The Directive Principles of State Policy lay down that the state shall endeavour to secure for its citizens a uniform civil code throughout India. Is there even an oblique reference to the implementation of this provision? No. All talk of equality before the law and the goal of secularism are just a ploy to grab votes.

The party is also silent about its past performance. As for Nehru's vision of foreign policy, who can forget the tragedy of Partition, the intractable Kashmir dispute and the disappearance of Tibet as a buffer state because of that policy?

There is hardly a word of praise for the vision of Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel or Rajagopalachari who were also the leading lights of the party at some time but differed with Nehru. Rajaji led a crusade against the licence-quota-inspector raj long before Dr Manmohan Singh was born as an economist.

If Congress comes to power, it will be not because of its clean image or past performance but because of the misrule of the NDA and widespread corruption in the BJP ranks, of which Punjab, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are shameful examples. Whom should the voter choose? The villain who is in the saddle now, or the villain who is holding out a carrot for the future?

R.L. SINGAL, Chandigarh

II

The editorial “Shimla Musings, Congress looks for a vote bank” is a realistic analysis of the mindset and confused state of the rank and file in the Congress. But the whole scenario should be analysed in a broader perspective. There is no immediate danger to the BJP's invincible position unless Congress leaders meet it with a counter-offensive. Elections to some State Assemblies will be fought on local issues.

There is confusion in the Congress regarding its policies and poll allies. Its backroom boys will coin catchy slogans like ‘Garibi ke saath’ and expose corruption. But the party think-tank should formulate matching strategies based on ground realities.

The Congress should realise that the voter's approval of its policies is all that matters. And so, it should match the BJP’s communal card with a statement that it has kept the issue of leadership in abeyance and that the will of the people will prevail. This will help Congress neutralise the pre-poll irritant and lethal weapon in the BJP’s armament — the foreign stigma of Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress should maintain its national character. It should go alone in all states except in Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, just as the BJP has no alternative than to ally with the Shiv Sena, the Congress has no option than to ally with the NCP.

In Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa is impulsive and unreliable. The Congress should hammer an MGR-Indira Gandhi style arrangement with Mr Karunanidhi’s DMK. In Bihar, the Congress should continue its alliance with Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav’s RJD.

In UP, it should rebuild its own house first. Priyanka, through her whirlwind tours, may attract votes for the party. It should come on equal terms with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party with a clear understanding that it will extend wholehearted support to him in state politics.