M A I N   N E W S

Sonia says Cong open to alliances
S Iyer

Mumbai, December 27
Congress President Sonia Gandhi says her party is open to alliances with like-minded parties in the forthcoming state and Central elections.

Sending out a strong signal to potential allies, Ms Gandhi stressed on the need to combat communalism and consolidate the secular forces in the country.

In a hard hitting speech, Ms Gandhi hit out at the ruling NDA government and said it had failed to fulfill the aspirations of the people of India.

Though Ms Gandhi read out her speech as usual, the party’s unit in Mumbai pulled out all stops to muster a mammoth turnout for Ms Sonia Gandhi’s election rally in the city in five years.

She said the Congress had produced veteran leaders like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and their sacrifices would always remain fresh in the minds of the people.

The rally at the Central Mumbai Shivaji Park saw more than 1,50,000 persons being mobilised, the largest such turnout seen for a Congress party meeting, said observers here.

Right from today morning, Congress workers across Mumbai and neighbouring townships trucked in people atop buses and trucks to hear Sonia Gandhi.

‘‘More than 1200 ST buses were hired and several trucks were used to bring in people,’’ said a party spokesman.

Working together in a long while, leaders of different party factions like actor Sunil Dutt and Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee president Gurudas Kamat urged their supporters to pitch in with money and material to ensure a huge turnout for Ms Gandhi.

The party meeting had a strong local flavour, a rarity in Congress meetings in the past. Ms Gandhi was welcomed with the songs ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majhaa’, a song traditionally associated with the Shiv Sena.

PTI adds: In her speech Ms Gandhi said, "The process of discussions on forming an alliance with like-minded parties has already begun. The Congress is running coalition governments not only in Maharashtra but other states as well.

Incidentally, it was her first public meeting after the severe drubbing the party received in the Hindi heartland.

Sharply attacking the BJP for forming 'opportunistic' coalition, Sonia, in her speech in Hindi, that lasted for 17 minutes, said: "The Congress will enter into alliance with like-minded and ideologically similar parties to serve the country and its people".

Setting the tone for campaign, Sonia said: "If voted to power, our priority would be development and to tackle the issue of unemployment".

She also laid emphasis on addressing matters of electricity, drinking water, education and health.

She lambasted the NDA government for growing unemployment, spiralling inflation, "selling" Public Sector Units (PSUs) at pittance and failure in foreign policy.

Referring to talks of snap polls emanating from BJP, Ms Gandhi said: “Rumour mills are working overtime” and alleged that the saffron party was blaming Congress for all its failures.

Comparing the BJP’s five year-rule with the five decades of Congress rule, the AICC President said: “It was the Congress, which laid foundation for a strong and vibrant India”.

In the backdrop of Congress’ defeat in three Assembly elections, the party president said: “Victory and loss are part of polls. But we have to march ahead and only those, who do not lose their heart, reach the destination.”

Attacking the BJP-led NDA, Ms Gandhi said the industries were closing down leading to massive problem of unemployment.

The NDA government was selling off PSUs for “peanuts” and there are no new opportunities of employment, she alleged.

The NDA, she alleged, could not see beyond its self-interests. “The government is for the people and not serve their own interests,” she said.

Striking a chord with the women over the issue of inflation, Ms Gandhi said: “I know how difficult it is for them to meet both ends meet.”

She blasted the NDA government for its “anti-farmer policies”, failing to tackle the scourge of terrorism and growing discord among various communities.

The Opposition leader blamed the NDA government for making heard India’s voice on global platform alleging that the government had failed on foreign policy. 

BJP tells ministers to clear projects before polls
S Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 27
Mad rush seems to have begun in the official circles, especially in the ministries having direct interaction with people, to clear the pending projects and schemes immediately with their political bosses wanting to project a rosy picture to the people ahead of the general elections next year.

With the party leadership clearly hinting at an early Lok Sabha poll and the party president Venkaiah Naidu announcing that a booklet, listing various achievements of the Vajpayee-led NDA government, would be released soon, some of the BJP ministers were understood to be working overnight to clear various projects and schemes.

This, sources said, was apparently being done to make the list of achievements of the NDA government “more exhaustive” as the party had already made up its mind to focus on “development and achievements” as the main poll plank in the coming general elections.

Moreover, since the party had decided to list its achievements department-wise with “full facts and figures” there was understandably a “silent competition” among various BJP ministers to project the performance of their respective ministries as the “best one”.

In a related development, the BJP President today held a series of one-to-one meetings with at least six Cabinet ministers belonging to the party.

The ministers with whom Mr Naidu met at his residence here included Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rural Development Minister Kashiram Rana and Surface Transport Minister B C Khanduri.

During the meeting with the Cabinet ministers, the BJP chief was understood to have asked them to prepare a “blue print” of projects done by their respective ministries highlighting the “achievements” registered during the past four to five years.

These blueprints, Mr Naidu was understood to have told the ministers, should be prepared in such a way that it enabled the party to draw a comparison between the Vajpayee government’s achievements in five years with that of “47 years’ rule of the Congress”.