Congress President Sitaram Kesri yesterday declared that his party had begun its march to power at the Centre from the plenum itself and would end this only by hoisting the Congress flag on the historic Red Fort.
In his valedictory address at the third and final day of the Congress Plenary at the Netaji Nagar here, Kesris body language was that of confidence, irrespective of a general impression among AICC members that he had bought himself a lot of inner party trouble at the plenary.
Later addressing a Press Conference, Kesri said Prime Minister I K Gujral can hoist the National Flag at the Red Fort on the coming 15th. However, he was not willing to give any timeframe to the present government. As far as his party was concerned, he said it was ready for elections. For the present, I am doing exercises, I am in training to keep (Congress) fighting fit for elections.
The main target of attack in the United Front was the Left, particularly the CPI(M). You will see that the Left tends to get into unholy alliance with communal forces whenever they feel threatened by our growing strength. You can see this already happening., Kesri said.
To another question, he said that in spite of the fact that a coalition government at the Centre was not good for the country, his party has given support to the United Front government and it will continue to do so. When asked for comments on media reports of his attempts to form government with some of United Front partners, he said :I am not ready to form a government, my attention is to build the party organisation.
In his repeated assertions in the speech as well as at the Press conference as to how coalition governments were bound to fail in the country, Kesri meticulously avoided making any reference either to the regional parties or to the concept of `cooperative federalism.
The new definition of Centre-State relations the plenary ridiculed merely a day before, is one of the key tenets of the United Front and its government. The only regional party the Congress president criticised is Akali Dal which is in alliance with the BJP.
If his detractors claimed that the bitter criticism of coalition politics, of `cooperative federalism, and of alliances forged after elections for coming to power, in the political resolution would make it difficult for Kesri to forge alliance with the regional parties, Kesri said nothing that could annoy the regional parties in the United Front.
In fact he declared that his party was willing to make any sacrifice in Bihar to prevent communal forces to come to power. We will fight corruption, but not at the cost of our fight against communalism, he said.
Congress Party had recently come under severe criticism for abstaining in the Bihar Assembly when a no-confidence against scam tainted Laloo Prasad led government was taken up.
The Congress president claimed that his party was much cleaner than any other party in the country, particularly the Communist parties which have so many corrupt leaders and several scandals to their credit. He warned the delegates, that they should be vigilant against the Communists in their march towards the Red Fort.
Kesri, who was a votary of separate reservations to Muslims when he was a Welfare Minister in P V Narasimha Rao government, yesterday said that the situation had changed now and that the pain and fire in the eyes of Muslims after the Babari Mosque demolition was no longer there.
