ADDRESS OF SMT SONIA GANDHI AT SRIPERUMBUDUR

11TH JANUARY 1998

Brothers and sisters, friends, Sahodarikaley, Sahodararkaley, Vanakkam. I thank you for being here today. I am grateful to the people of Tamil Nadu for the love and support they have always given my family. You indeed occupied a very special place in Indira and Rajiv Gandhi's heart and you do so in my children's and mine as well.

I stand here today on this soil made sacred by the blood of my husband who died a martyr to the cause of the nation's unity and integrity. I stand here today, surrounded by security, where he stood valiantly facing his assassins unprotected and alone.

Sriperumbudur is a place of great sadness, but it is also a place of inspiration for me. The passage of time has not made it easier to be here. My heart is filled with deep emotion. For all the years we were married, my husband was the centre of my life and existence, he was a loving and protective father to our children.

But Rajiv Gandhi was much more than a husband and father. He was a man of the masses, who put his country and his people before himself. When destiny summoned him to leave his chosen career and private life, he answered the call with complete commitment. He drew strength from the boundless love of his countrymen and women, he reached out to the poor and disadvantaged, to learn from them and to help them to the best of his ability.

Some of you may have seen him, perhaps heard him speak and felt the powerful force of hope and concern which he radiated. Millions upon millions of our countrymen and women looked up to him as a leader and a person of virtue and goodness. We knew him to be a man of courage and principle, a leader of compassion and fortitude, and a statesman of foresight and wisdom. In the chronicles of our nation's history, he will be remembered as a true and noble son of India.

In coming here I pay homage to Rajiv Gandhi and I grieve for him. My husband's sacrifice may have removed him from our midst. His voice may have been silenced. But his powerful message and what he stood for is still vibrant and alive.

Today, the India of his dreams is being increasingly threatened. In the past few years, I have shared the distress of every right thinking Indian as I have watched our country in crisis. I have been anguished and angered at the way our people are being used and misled.

Where we once had principles and values in public life, we now witness the cynical exploitation of the common man and woman by political vested interests whose only concern is to grab power at any cost. Like many of you I have been pained by the cynicism which drives so many parties and politicians to appeal in the name of religion, caste or region. The violence and social upheavals of these past years have inflicted wounds which will not heal easily.

In the years since Rajiv Gandhi left us, I had chosen to remain a private person and live a life away from the political arena. My grief and loss have been deeply personal. But a time has come when I feel compelled to put aside my own inclinations and step forward. The tradition of duty before personal considerations has been the deepest conviction of the family to which I belong.

I became part of India thirty years ago when I entered Indira Gandhi's home as her eldest son's bride. It was through her heart that I grew to understand and love India. It was through my husband's love and compassion for his people that my heart too opened to their pain and suffering.

It was by living so closely to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, by experience first hand their dedication and passionate love for India, and by witnessing their example and sacrifice, that my devotion to our country and her people is unwavering and absolute.

It is this devotion to India that brings me before you today-not to seek political office and position-but to share with you my concern for our country's future. We do not want our society to be broken up into fragments. We do not want our people to be separated from one another by caste or language, religion or region. We do not want our sisters and daughters brutalized, our sons and brothers killed in cold blood, no matter to which community they belong.

As a country we prize our diversity. In spite of periods of tensions and turmoil we have lived together for generations, we have lived as friends and neighbours. In moments of trial we have always stood together as one people. I believe that the Congress party is the only truly national party representing the whole country and all its people. It is the party which under Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and scores of freedom fighters from all parts of the country, so many of them from this very region, earned India her freedom.

In the last fifty years it has ensured India's integrity and enabled us to hold our heads high among the nations of the world. During all these years the Congress has been the only party which has given the country stable and effective governments. These have been years of great change and progress. The institutions we have, the economic growth we have achieved, our place in the world, democracy itself, these are all achievements largely of the Congress party.

Although I am conscious of its shortcomings, I am convinced that under the right and able leadership it is the only party which has the experience and capability to give India what it needs most at this time - a stable government which will work without fear or favour, for the benefit of all Indians.

The people of our country want education for our children, health care for our families, employment for our youth, social justice and economic prosperity. We want to improve our standards of living. We want homes to live in, clean water, electricity, the basic amenities every human being requires. Our women want to be empowered, and want an end to exploitation in any form. Our people want to be able to lead lives free from fear and tension, to go about daily chores in peace, without having to beg or bribe for what is rightfully due to them.

Every Indian has the right to live in dignity and self-respect. But we cannot achieve what we seek without upholdig our national traditions and values of democracy, secularism and socil justice. A vote for the Congress party is a vote for the India that Rajiv Gandhi envisioned: an India strong, independent and self-confident. At this hallowed spot I pledge that with your support, I will work with Congress party to serve our people with hopes renewed and courage of our conviction. Let us work together to re-build a strong, just and prosperous nation.

In a few days you will celebrate Pongol. Let me extend to you, you families and the people of Tamil Nadu a very happy Pongol.

Pongal Nal Vavaltukal

Neengal Yellorum Congressirukku

Vote Podungal

Nandri

Jai Hind!