Sensing that the nuclear deal might not cut much propaganda ice in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress President today set the principal task for the UPA government: controlling inflation.
In her letter to the party in Congress mouthpiece Sandesh, Gandhi wrote, "The trust has been won but we cannot be complacent. To control inflation is our highest priority."
Although a large section of the party is in a jubilant mood after the government survived the trust vote and found new friends like the Samajwadi Party, Gandhi has made it clear that "we can take nothing for granted." She has virtually served a notice to the UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by reminding PM's commitment to 'concentrate single-mindedly' on the inflation issue.
"Our Prime Minister is personally monitoring the situtation, and as he said in the Parliament recently, with the nuclear agreement on path, the government can concentrate single-mindedly on ensuring that inflation rate is brought down significantly," she wrote.
Not only does the party face Lok Sabha polls in a next few months but there are at least five state assembly elections round the corner. In this situation, the Congress President wants to prevent the Opposition from taking any more advantage from spiraling price rise and in a pre-emptive step, has asked it to take more steps to control inflation.
The government and institutions like Reserve Bank of India have already taken a host of measures to check the price rise. Sonia Gandhi's comments, however, make it clear today that there is need for more follow-up steps to curb price rise. "The astronomical increases in prices of oil and other essential commodities in world markets have had a major impact on the price situation in our country in spite of record agricultural production and procurement."
Meanwhile, Gandhi has also instructed her party to undertake an aggressive campaign on the nuclear deal. The Indo-US nuclear deal is going to be a major issue in the elections, she wrote and said she wanted her party machinery to make the common man understand the benefits nuclear treaty can bring in their life. "We must communicate to people at large, the significance of the Nuclear Agreement so that they are able to see the correctness of our stand," she said.
The Congress President also clearly stated that the canvassing for deal was to be based on benefits like generation of more electricity while fully protecting national interest. "The agreement will benefit our farmers, our families, our trade and industry and our economy," Gandhi said. The ruling party was also worried about the anti-Muslim tag attached to the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement and Gandhi emphasised that "this must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. This agreement will benefit India and all Indians irrespective of caste, language, region or religion."