We will remove corrupt rulers, says Sonia

By Manas Dasgupta

BULSAR (Gujarat), SEPT. 1. The Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, today questioned the nationalism of the ruling BJP to take the country on the path of progress.

Addressing a rally of Congress workers and tribals in the tribal- dominated Dharampur town in south Gujarat today, Ms. Gandhi accused the BJP Government both at the Centre and State of taking the country backward due to its lack of policies and a clear-cut programme. ``The country can progress only if the people in power really have love for the nation,'' she said.

Giving a call to her partymen to stand united, she said the main task before them was to remove the ``unholy rulers whose hands smack of all kinds of corruption,'' and take the country back on the path of progress. ``The Congress has resolved to wipe out corrupt rulers and we will not rest till we achieve our goal,'' she said.

The rally was attended by at least 25,000 people dressed in colourful tribal attire. A Congress spokesman, however, claimed that more than one lakh people were present. A large number of cheering tribals were seen still trying to make their way to the venue to have a glimpse of Ms. Gandhi much after the rally ended.

In her 25-minute address, she referred to the achievements of previous Congress Governments and said if the present Government had not changed the course and carried forward the tasks initiated by the Congress regimes in the past, the country could have scaled new heights. But unfortunately, the ruling party leaders even lacked vision to see where the interests of the country lay and were leading the country on a disastrous course, she regretted.

Referring to the assassinations of two former Prime Ministers, her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, and husband, Rajiv Gandhi, she said they had sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation and the Congress would not allow their sacrifices to go in vain. ``We are all ready to sacrifice our lives for the cause of the nation,'' she said.

Claiming that the BJP Government had failed to implement a single new programme, Ms. Gandhi said no one in the country was happy under the BJP regime, with farmers, tribals and poorer sections of society being the worst sufferers. She said besides problems of shortage of water and power, the Government could not even ensure remunerative prices to the farmers for the trouble they took to increase the country's agricultural production forcing the ryots to commit suicide in many parts of the country.

Referring to the stock market scam, the tehelka.com scam and many others, Ms. Gandhi said ``the BJP Government has achieved new heights only in one field: corrupt practices. The BJP Government has not left untouched any page in the book of corruption and there is no area where corruption has not crept in under the BJP regime,'' she said.

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