THE KEY ISSUE

 The 2004 Lok Sabha election is no ordinary election.

It is not just an election between one party and another.

It is a clash of sharply competing values,

of diametrically opposite ideologies.

It is a contest between the Congress that has always

celebrated India’s glorious past and drawn from its traditions

to build modern India, and the BJP that is systematically

undermining the very essence of Indian civilization

and destroying the very idea of India.

The Congress recognises that this is not a moment for a

narrow pursuit of partisan power. This is the moment

to consolidate all forces subscribing to the fundamental

values of our Constitution. The Congress’s

goal is to defeat the forces of obscurantism and

bigotry who contributed nothing to the Freedom

Movement or the making of our Constitution and

whose sole objective is to subvert our millennial

heritage and composite nationhood. In this sacred

endeavour, the Congress has joined hands with

like-minded political parties in different states.

The Congress and its various allies are

united in their determination to defeat the BJP,

which threatens to rewrite our past and

wreck our future. In the process, we will present

the national alternative to bring India back on the path

of economic growth with social harmony.