BJP’s real agenda a major threat to secularism — Sonia

Gandhi said the Congress has succeeded in securing from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee a reiteration of NDA’s intention of keeping such issues on the backburner.

"But, the tardiness and inadequacy of Prime Minister’s response to the UP Chief Minister’s statement reveals what it seeks to hide, namely, that all these contentious issues remain at the very heart of the BJP’s agenda and are being kept aside, ifindeed they are being kept aside, only for reasons of temporary expediency”, she said.

On the women’s reservation bill, Gandhi, who is also the CPP chairperson, said that the party wanted the bill to be "introduced in the House, discussed and passed".

"We all know that mere introduction is not even a statement of intent. Indeed, it might be quite the opposite, a technique for disguising the real intent", Gandhi said adding that when she raised the issue in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Government would go no further than committing itself to its introduction.

She said that the proposed introduction of the bill on virtually the last day of the current session, so as to postpone debate and discussion is "but a ruse to buy time to cover up the widening cracks in the ruling coalition on this critical issue".

On the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, she recalled that Prime Minister had invited her last week to discuss the CTBT.

Stating that this was the first time a briefing was given to the party on the issue,she said since the matter is so complex "it was not possible for us to give a response without reflecting on the issues raised…..”

Noting that the winter session was "short but successful", she said it should be evident to the country that "we really are a constructive opposition".