Author: Sonia Gandhi
Publication: The Indian Express
Dated: March 29, 2006
Introduction: Sonia Gandhi issues a sharp
rebuff to 'parties', which mobilised street protests against George W. Bush's
India visit Full text of Sonia Gandhi's letter to party workers in the March
issue of Congress Sandesh, which also carries an editorial criticising protest
by 'key allies' like the Left
[Comment from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: It seems
that the Congress party has a poor opinion of the intelligence of the people
of India. Their whole policy vis-a-vis was determined on the basis of what
would happen to the Muslim vote bank.]
This month we have seen two remarkable and
related achievements that will go a long way in making our nation a long-term
and prosperous economy. The first is the budget that the UPA government presented
this year. The budget has focused on those areas of our economy that still
need strong state intervention. These are the flagship programmes of the Congress
Party and have also found agreement within the CMP. Ensuring that resources
are made available for their successful implementation is a major achievement
of the Congress Party. We have proved that economic integration with the world
and economic reform do not have to come at the expense of our agricultural
sector or our khet majdoor. We have ensured that education, health and employment
for the rural poor, the need for credit faced by our farmers are all met.
It also needs to be pointed out that we have been able to do this only because
we have been able to take advantage of the excellent performance of our economy
and the willingness of our state and civil society to meet the challenges
of poverty that we still face. And this remains a real challenge. We cannot
claim credit for participating in economic reform if people in India still
live below the poverty line. We cannot claim credit for a high GDP if only
a few benefit from it. The goal of the Congress Party remains one of equity
with growth. Only an India that rises from the grassroot will be an empowered
world power.
The second is the landmark agreement with
the United States in the field of civilian nuclear technology. The United
States and India are two vibrant democracies and we were happy to welcome
President Bush as our guest. This agreement is extremely important for India's
future energy needs and for its access to high-end technology that has been
denied to us for the past twenty years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
his team have worked in the most positive atmosphere with President Bush and
his team and have ensured that India did not compromise on national interest
in signing this deal. Instead, India has gained enormously. India is indeed
proud of her atomic energy scientists who have persevered to maintain our
nuclear programme despite facing great odds. Today, we will be even prouder
when they take their place as equals amongst the world's nuclear scientists
and gain from vibrant academic and scientific exchanges at the international
level.
India has always been wary of compromising
its independence and the Congress Party and its leaders have tried to ensure
that its principled commitment to democracy and a multilateral world order
is maintained. Those who accuse the Manmohan Singh government of discarding
India's independent policy need to look carefully at the enormous gains our
new and equal relationship with America will bring our scientific, technical,
agricultural and trade sectors. For India to meet the needs of employment
creation and infrastructure, we need to better integrate ourselves in the
growing sectors of the world economy, the sectors that will power tomorrow's
service sector, where India already has an edge. This can only be done if
we also have equal access to the achievements of scientific gains being made
world-wide.
It is indeed sad that some parties have tried
to communalise our foreign policy for short-term electoral gains. This is
above all an insult to our minorities and something that the Congress will
never do. We do not think our religious minorities are any less nationalist
than our majority. We do not think that religion can or should be the matrix
for national interest in a country as linguistically and religiously pluralistic
as India. We all fought together for our independence. We all fought as a
nation in the face of all external aggression and we will continue to do so.
And like earlier, our minorities will continue to support the Congress's desire
to create an open and plural society where our democracy gives everyone the
right to articulate their difference of opinion. The Congress Party has always
remained in the forefront of the fight against communalism and fundamentalism
and we will never compromise on our secular principles. We are only against
violence and terrorism and Mahatama Gandhi's leadership during the independence
struggle and its success has shown us the possibility of peace as a means
for political gain.
