Suresh Dharur
Tribune News ServiceHyderabad, April 7
In a strong rebuff to BJP over leadership issue, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said the saffron party had no moral right to point an accusing finger at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose integrity and capabilities were beyond question.
Launching her party’s election campaign in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi joined the issue with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani, who had dubbed Singh as the weakest Prime Minister.
Seeking to highlight the contrasting responses of the NDA and UPA governments to the menace of terrorism, she said the previous regime had surrendered to hijackers’ demands and handed over terrorists during the Kandahar episode while the present government had handled the post-26/11 situation efficiently and forced Pakistan to accept that its nationals were involved in the Mumbai attacks.
“Advani was the home minister when the Parliament was attacked by terrorists. Again, he was at the helm when hardcore terrorists were released from jail and handed over to hijackers at Kandahar. The same person is now hurling baseless allegations against Manmohan Singh,” she said.
“With such a track record behind him, how dare Advani raises baseless allegations against the Prime Minister?” Gandhi asked the gatherings at Karimnagar and Bhongir towns. Strongly defending Singh, she said he was the “symbol of integrity” and was prepared to “do anything for the country.”
“We have our own meaning and definition of a strong leader. For us, a strong leader is one who does big things and not talks big,” the UPA chairperson said.
A sustained diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes, had resulted in Islamabad accepting the truth that its soil was used for planning attacks against India, Gandhi said, asking “whether that was a sign of weakness?”
Seeking a resounding mandate for Congress in the coming elections, she said the choice before the people was between stability and progress represented by Congress and forces of instability and communal polarisation represented by the opposition parties.
Referring to the raging demand for separate Telangana state, an issue on which the Congress finds itself in a tight spot, she said her party had no objection to the formation of the new state.
“We will take up the issue on a priority basis,” Gandhi said, reminding the gathering about Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s statement in the Assembly recently in this regard. Reddy had announced constitution of an all-party legislative committee to look into the Telangana issue.
The Congress president lashed out at the Telugu Desam Party for its volte face on Telangana. “Having opposed the demand all along, it has now suddenly become a champion of the statehood cause. Why did it block formation of Telangana state while in power?” she wondered. Gandhi undertook a whirlwind tour of AP, addressing public meetings at Karimnagar and Bhongir in Telangana and Vizianagaram in north coastal Andhra region.
