E-Paper
Cong confident of facing polls any time: Sonia
Congress President Sonia Gandhi declared on Monday that her party was confident of facing the Lok Sabha polls "any time" and defeating the BJP-led NDA whose policies were endangering the country's unity.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi declared on Monday that her party was confident of facing the Lok Sabha polls "any time" and defeating the BJP-led NDA whose policies were endangering the country's unity. "Its time is up. The Congress Party's time has come again. It must now reclaim its rightful place," she said.
She was speaking at the Congress' three-day conclave (the 'vichar manthan shivir') here, being attended by 260 delegates.
Sonia Gandhi's speech was significant because it indicated that not just the Congress, but she too was ready to take charge at the Centre.
Unlike the party's brainstorming session at Panchmarhi in 1998 where she kept the personal element out, at Shimla on Monday, Sonia Gandhi talked of the "hard work" she had put in as party president. She also talked of her consensual style of functioning, even though the ultimate decision was hers. "By nature, I not only want to do the right thing but I also want to do a thing right," she said.
Clearly, she was packaging herself for the Sonia-Vajpayee face-off in the 2004 polls.
Sonia Gandhi’s speech focussed not so much the BJP, as the BJP-led NDA government's ‘failures’.
There were no direct references to Hindutva or Ayodhya, but Sonia did say, “Politics must unite, not divide. Politics must be constructive, not destructive. Politics must shape the future, not reinvent the past.”
Instead of taking on Deputy PM L.K. Advani on Hindutva, she talked of his 'failure' to ensure internal security as home minister. She said he was the only home minister to have been chargesheeted while in office.
Both Advani and PM A.B. Vajpayee were accused of doublespeak. "At home (they) say one thing, but abroad, they talk about compromises and give-and-take on J&K. What are these compromises? What are we expected to give?" she asked, charging that the regime's foreign policy lacked consistency, conviction and clarity.
