HVK Archives: Kesri sets deadline for Cong comeback
Kesri sets deadline for Cong comeback - The Indian Express
Vijay Simha
()
25 July 1997
Title: Kesri sets deadline for Cong comeback
Author: Vijay Simha
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: July 25, 1997
Congress President Sitaram Kesri today set a definite time-frame for his
party to be back in power saying it would "face the ultimate challenge
within one to one-and-a-half-years when the Congress would come back just
as Indiraji had come back ill 1980".
Kesri has thus set the dock for the I K Gujral government after assuring
support till he was ready to withdraw it.
Kesri's declaration came in the general body meeting of the Congress
Parliamentary Party (CPP) today in which he clearly told party 'MPs to gear
up for a mid-term poll next year.
Added CPP spokesperson Prithviraj Chauhan, "Kesriji told us that things
would come to a head within a year or a year-and-a-half when we might be
forced to take a new decision. He told us that the Congress must be back m
power like Indira Gandhi did in 1980".
This is the first instance when Kesri has laid down such a clear plan of
action to wrest power at the Centre from the 14-party United front
coalition after Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as Prime Minister. So far Kesri
has been speaking only in terms of not precipitating things in a hurry for
the Gujral government. But now the assertion is quite positive, in
Congress terms.
Today's firm direction to party MPs to get cracking is in line with what
Kesri said some days ago that the Gujral government was safe till August
15, 1998.
After today, the Congress is expected to list constituencies where it has a
chance of winning and also identify areas of possible cooperation with poll
allies.
Such an exercise was already shortlisted as a priority area by Kesri in a
meeting with PCC presidents a week ago at the AICC headquarters.
However, the Congress president left some space for ambiguity by saying in
the same CPP meeting that the party would continue its support to the
Gujral government but without "compromising on the party principles".
"The ensuing plenary session to be held at Calcutta will set the future
course and shape an action plan to strengthen the party and fight communal
forces unitedly," Kesri added.
The Congress chief also prepared some ground for his future election
campaign by again equating the Left and the BJP This was the third time in
the last few days that he has done this.
"Both (the Left and the BJP) speak same language when attacking the
Congress and there is no difference between them so far as their criticism
of the Congress is concerned," Kesri said.
He added that it was the Congress alone which had never aligned with
communal forces (read the BJP) while all other parties had aligned and
compromised with communal forces for selfish political ends.
"Yet all these parties attack the Congress. Is it possible for the Left,
with their limited presence in hardly two States, to fight communal forces
alone. If they are concerned about fighting communal forces they must go
with the Congress. There is no other option," Kesri told the CPP general body.
He also singled out the BJP for "hijacking Congress symbols".
"It has no history of national struggle nor a galaxy of national leaders
like the Congress. The BJP believes in whispering campaigns like Ganeshji
drinking milk," he said.
On L K Advani's rath yatra, Kesri felt a rath symbolised feudal culture of
rajas and maharajas and is not a symbol of democratic ways.
"The Congress is not afraid of the BJP's whispering campaign and criticism
and will face them with courage and unity. We will expose the misdeeds of
BJP governments in the states and bring facts before the people," Kesri added.
On corruption, Kesri claimed Congressmen were "definitely less corrupt as
compared to other parties".
Back
Top
|
