From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The Congress completed on Thursday its two-day
exercise for assessing its prospects in the Lok Sabha mid-term
poll with its President Sonia Gandhi declaring that the party
would ask votes for "a stable, strong and good government."

"It is the duty of the secular forces to rip off the mask and
reveal to the people the true face of communalism. The last 13
months have shown how confused, corrupt and criminal are the
forces of communalism. They cannot be given another chance. All
of us true Indians must defeat the BJP and its game," Sonia
Gandhi declared.

She was addressing the PCC Presidents and CLP leaders at the end
of two days of intense one-to-one state-wise discussions over
the last two days. She summed up her understanding of the ground
situation from these discussions, saying "we are riding the wave
of victory."

The Congress manifesto is likely to provide for the Employment
Guarantee scheme on the lines of the most successful scheme
under implementation in Maharashtra since the days of the
Congress rule there. Manifesto Committee chairman Pranab
Mukherjee, who interacted with the state leaders state-wise to
know which state points should be incorporated in the
declaration, hinted that the Manifesto would be out latest by
the first week of June.

Sonia Gandhi also asked the state leaders to explain to people
how the third Lok Sabha election in three years has been
inflicted "much against our wish" because of "nexus and
nevarious links" of Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav. 

She squarely blamed Samajwadi Party for the Opposition's failure
to form alternative government after the fall of the Vajpayee
Government. 

The Congress President also directed the state leaders to build
the election campaign on the 14-page "report card" of "Thirteen
Months of the BJP" prepared by the AICC. "Read it carefully,
bring it to the Media attention, translate into your local
languages and widely distribute to Congress workers at the
grassroots," she advised.

Though each PCC President and CLP leader was asked to give their
assessment of the constituency-wide party position in their
states, the AICC sources said they were yet to make compilation
to provide an overall picture. 

The state leaders were asked to give their assessment about the
seat adjustment or loose understanding with the political
parties and the only concrete decision in this regard was to let
the Congress continue its electoral alliance with Republican
Party of India (RPI) while hold further consultations for
alliances in other states.

Maharashtra PCC President Pratap Rao Bhonsale, who bosts to win
40 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state as against 33 seats in
the dissolved House, said the foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi
cannot become an issue howsoever hard the BJP and company tries
it. Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had tried to raise it in the
last Lok Sabha election using most filthy language against Sonia
Gandhi who had taken command of the party's poll campaign and
despite that the BJP-Shiv Sena lost many seats in the state,
Bhonsale pointed out.

The consensus of leaders from other states was also on the same
lines as they pointed out that Sonia Gandhi's Italian origin is
known to the country for the past 30 years and as such it cannot
suddenly become an issue, the party sources said. END.
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