After lying low until the BJP-led government was safely ensconced, Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday adopted an antagonistic role, dismissing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees talk of consensus as mere rhetoric.
Addressing her partys MPs, Gandhi attacked the government, saying the ruling combine had abandoned its promise of cooperation with the Opposition at the first opportunity and its conduct during the Speakers election and the confidence vote had done it no credit. This has been for us a valuable lesson in the kind of politics we can expect from the ruling coalition, she said. Given our recent experiences, we have to remain vigilant at all times, she added.
Asserting that constructive cooperation - which she had earlier vouchsafed to the government - did not mean dilution of our beliefs, she said the Congress should show the people that ours is a politics of reason and conscience and not one of narrow self-interest and compromise.
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In her brief address, Gandhi made it clear that, despite the conduct of the government during the Speakers election and the confidence vote, we, on our part, will not cast aside our constructive approach.
Gandhi had refused to go along with the many Opposition leaders who had wanted the Congress to make a serious attempt to dislodge the BJP-led government during Saturdays vote of confidence and instal a Congress-led coalition instead.
However, she told her partys members that the coming budget session would provide an opportunity for the party to once again define its priorities and approach to a variety of issues of national concern. She did not say what this approach would be.
Stating that many of the party MPs have held responsible positions and are able to confront the ruling coalition head-on, she said that during the coming session the party members would keep important issues alive and the government on its toes.
The Congress, she said, must ensure that serious problems facing the country were not ignored or left unattended by default. We must see that real issues concerning the public do not get lost in petty politics, she said.
Meanwhile, in Chennai, prospects of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) returning to the Congress fold improved with the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee yesterday renewing its appeal to G K Moopanar to merge his party with the Congress. TNCC president K V Thangkabalu told reporters here that the state executive had unanimously adopted a resolution appealing to TMC to return to the Congress and a copy of the resolution with a request to issue an appeal to Moopanar to rejoin Congress had already been sent to Sonia Gandhi. He told reporters here on Monday that he was in constant touch with Sonia Gandhi. If the Congress president makes any move in this regard, I will definitely consider it, he said.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram yesterday expressed shock over Moopanars offer. The partys proposed state executive meeting at Thanjavur on April 2 would not accept Moopanars offer, Chidambaram, a close associate of the party founder, said in a statement at Karaikudi.
There is no question of changing the leadership of the party. Moopanar is not occupying a position. He is holding a responsibility. He is the founder of the party, the former finance minister said.
The tmc had some goals, some ideals, and till the goals were reached, the partymen would toil under moopanars leadership, chidambaram said.
(moopanar had yesterday offered to quit the post owning moral responsibility for tmcs dismal peformance in the just-concluded lok sabha polls in which it managed to win only three of the 20 seats it contested in tamil nadu).