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Sonia rips into BJP government's policies at CPP meet

Congress president Sonia Gandhi today came down heavily on the poor economic and political management of the government and said the deep divisions within the Bharatiya Janata Party have made it impossible for the ruling coalition to deliver effective governance.

"People's expectations are for a government that governs, and an administration that administers, but there has been no evidence of this in the last eight months, Gandhi said in her address to the general body of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

The absence of governance, the confusion and lack of decisiveness of the past several months have brought the country close to an economic crisis like the one faced in 1991, she said.

She said the Congress was on the move again as an electoral force and organisation and "we must ensure that we retain the initiative.'' She declared that the party was prepared to discharge its constitutional obligations as and when the situation required, though the party would continue to offer the government constructive cooperation on issues of vital interest to the nation.

Gandhi said the strong mandate given by the people in the assembly elections showed that hard work and discipline based on the programme and ideology of the party could yield results that were ultimately in the country's interest.

She said it was an encouraging sign that the traditional support base among the poor, the dalits, adivasis and the minorities was returning to the Congress.

UNI

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