REPORT

Nation Suffered Enough Under BJP : Sonia Gandhi

NEW DELHI : It was Sunday the 30 March and all the roads of the Capital seemed to be leading towards the Ramlila Ground. A sea of humanity had converged here to hear the Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi at the ‘Desh Bachao Rally’ which was the grand finale of the two-day National Convention of the Block and District Congress Committee presidents held on 28 and 29 March at the Ambedkar Stadium.

People started gathering at the Ramlila Ground since morning to see their beloved leader and the rally commenced at about eleven in the morning when Smt. Sonia Gandhi arrived at the venue accompanied by her chief ministers from the Congress-ruled states and senior Congress leaders.

As the massive crowd listened to her intently, Smt. Sonia Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led NDA government for its failure on all fronts. She reiterated her party’s commitment to ensure that all sections of society get their rightful due. Smt. Gandhi said, "while our governments in 16 states are already working in this direction, the government at the Centre has miserably failed to fulfill its duty, something which is our Constitutional and moral responsibility".

Smt. Gandhi came down heavily on the Vajpayee government in her 20-minute speech punctuated with thunderous applause from the large gathering. She said, "it is a government of scams which runs on the basis of cuts and commissions". It is because of this reason that all sections of society were reeling under misery and deprivation and the people everywhere were disappointed and dis-illusioned with this cruel and insensitive government, added Smt. Gandhi.

Smt. Gandhi charged that the biggest threat to the social and secular fabric of the country came from the ‘nefarious’ ideology of the Sangh Parivar and its allies in conjunction with the BJP. She said, national unity and integrity were the vital component in the unity of the nation. But the nation has been weakened considerably due to the wrong policies pursued by the ruling party.

Smt. Gandhi said, "the plight of the poor under the Vajpayee regime has broken the backbone of almost every section of society". Smt. Gandhi remarked summing up the situation, "Nau jawanon ki jeb khali hai, garibon ka pet khali hai aur Kisanon ke khet khali hai" (the pockets of young men are empty, poor man’s stomach is empty and the fields of the farmers are empty).

The Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Shri Digvijay Singh, questioned the claims of the Deputy Prime Minister, Shri L.K. Advani, on national security. "His aar paar ki ladai with our trouble fomenting neighbour has ended in a whimper and we are all aware of that but these hollow claims have cost us our prestige. "End of terrorism in Punjab or Assam in the Congress regime were proofs that this party has the ability to deliver unlike the BJP," he claimed.

"Ever since this Government took over, the price of kerosene had risen from Rs. 3 per litre to Rs. 12, diesel prices have multiplied by more than double", he said.

Shri Singh cited the lack of enthusiasm in celebration of the Central Government on completing five years. "It should also account for the gains made by the Congress which presently rule in 16 states as compared to two of the BJP, he contended.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister, Shri Ashok Gehlot, criticized the Central Government for its lack of "sensitivity" towards the 14 drought affected states in the country, especially Rajasthan, "Since the last five years of the BJP-rule Mrs. Gandhi has been arguing for relief to the farmers nationwide and it was now that it had taken some half-measures. This was specially despicable when the grain-stores were full and their minimum usage could have saved many a farmers lives who committed suicide under debt stress", he said.

His Karnataka counterpart, Shri S.M. Krishna, referring to the convention called the exercise very rewarding for the entire rank and file. "The party functionaries have been greatly inspired by Mrs. Gandhi’s message, the commitment and the actions taken by her to address their problems. Weed out the BJP with its agenda of hatred and divisiveness," he exhorted the crowd.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde, said that the underpriveleged sections of the society could get their dues only under the able leadership of Smt. Gandhi owing to her compassion for the downtrodden". To replicate and diffuse the programmes for this section all over the country on a national level ascertain a Soniaji-led Congress rule at the Centre," he said.

The All India Congress Committee general secretary, Shri Kamal Nath accused the Central government of causing deterioration in every sector. Be it the farmers, youth, minorities, underpriveleged, communal harmony or country’s security, this government had failed on all the fronts", he charged.

The Deputy Speaker, Shri P. M. Sayeed, terming the two-day convention as "a very well deliberated one," said that this would help the 15 Congress-ruled states in becoming model in all the spheres of development for the country. "In the last 35 years for the first time such an elaborate exercise had taken place," he added.

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Shri Ajit Jogi too seemed in a belligerent mode attacking the Centre while the Delhi Chief Minister, Smt. Sheila Dikshit thanked the people and functionaries.