SPEECH

Address of the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, at Dalit Adivasi Conference, 24, Akbar Road, New Delhi on 30, August, 2002
‘This is Most Tainted Government’

The Monsoon Session is always short. This time, the session has been made even shorter because of the shocking revelations on the system of institutionalized plunder put in place by the BJP for allotting petrol pumps, gas agencies and kerosene depots violating all norms. Our demands have been that there must be a CBI inquiry and that the Petroleum Minister must tender his resignation. These demands are most reasonable and justifiable. But the government has refused them. Instead, it has tried to whitewash the whole issue by canceling all the allotments and throwing mud on us. The BJP manifesto of 1998 says "if the BJP is voted to power, the India that enters the 21st Century and the next millennium, will be an India that will hold her head high and whose citizens will be enjoying the long awaited fruits of progress made possible by a government committed to Su-raj".

This is the most tainted government. Three of its ministers are facing charges duly framed in a criminal court and a fourth one who resigned his position because his conduct was under investigation by a Commission of Inquiry, has returned to the Cabinet although the Inquiry is still on. And now we have the Petroleum Minister still on his chair even after the unearthing of a scandal running to thousands of crores of rupees.

The venality of the BJP and its allies quite takes one’s breath away. The hypocracy of the self-righteous posturing they displayed in the past stands exposed. Democracy is founded in well-accepted ethical values. There is no place in democracy for the kind of blatant misuse of public funds and the lining of private pockets which has been so much in evidence ever since the BJP Government is in office.

Let me now turn to the drought conditions that are ravaging many states this year.

I held a meeting with six of our chief ministers whose states are most affected by the failure of the Monsoon. Together with some of them we also met the Prime Minister and presented to him our set of demands for bringing relief to crores of people who are suffering in a most distressing manner. When I recall how Rajivji personally took charge to manage and monitor the the 1987-88 drought, it saddens me to think of the response of the BJP-led government to this national calamity.

There should be no politics here. This is a human issue with profound economic consequences. But the response of the Prime Minister and his colleagues is not commensurate with the gravity of the situation on the ground in different parts of the country. Our state governments are doing their best but there is only so much they can do without substantial financial and material support from the Central Government. This has not been forthcoming in spite of our persistent efforts but we should not allow this to come in the way of our drought management schemes and drought relief programmes.

We have had a short debate on disinvestment during the session. Cash-rich public sector companies are being sold off. Public sector companies in strategic areas are being sold off. The government does not tire of proclaiming that disinvestment is one of the key achievements of the BJP-led NDA government. Quite apart from the nature of the companies being disinvested and the manner of their disinvestment, is it not outrageous that when the economy faces a famine of investment, the government can only talk of disinvestment. Without new investment particularly in agriculture and industry, where is our youth going to find employment?

A million jobs a year was this Government’s promise to them!

The election schedule to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has been announced. All elections are crucial but this one is particularly critical not only for our long suffering brothers and sisters of that state but also for the country at large. Here again, it is a matter of deep concern that the Central Government has no clear and consistent strategy to bring peace and harmony back to J&K. A delegation of senior Congress leaders met the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister recently demanding that Government put in place mechanism which will ensure free and fair elections. Governor’s rule was one of our demands to them. Our colleagues came away none the wiser on the policy and plan of action of the Central Government on this issue. For a long time, we have extended our support to the government in the belief that J&K is a national issue going beyond party positions and considerations. It is the nation’s misfortune that this support has not been taken full advantage of. Our concerns on the government’s totally confused approach on J&K were highlighted in the debate that took place in the Rajya Sabha. Let me categorically state that the Congress will never permit the trifurcation of the state on religious lines. The BJP might still be votaries of the two-nation theory. We are not. We are nationalists. We are secular. Our secularism aligned to our nationalism makes it inconceivable that we go along with the trifurcation of the composite state of Jammu and Kashmir or with third party intervention.

As far as elections in Gujarat are concerned, we are confident that the Election Commission will take a decision that is in the country’s best interests. We stand prepared to confront the BJP at any time. But that is not the issue. The issue is whether the situation as it prevails today in the state is such that all people feel confident and secure in going out to vote in a manner they deem fit. That clearly is not the ground reality. We are still awaiting answers to the 15 questions put by our Party to the Deputy Prime Minister during the debate on Gujarat.

Day after tomorrow is a historic day for the Congress. In Madurai and Pondicherry the TMC is coming back home and rejoining us finally. This will impart a new momentum to our activities in Tamil Nadu.

The inter-sessional period is going to see at least one, and possibly two, crucial state assembly elections. We must spend all our energy in ensuring the Party’s victory. We must also gear up for a whole series of state assembly elections at the beginning of next year. This is simply no time to pause. All of us dedicate ourselves to this task.