Snap out, let’s prepare for polls: Sonia to MPs

‘‘I want to emphasise how absolutely crucial it is for all of us to involve ourselves in the process of finalisation of electoral rolls,’’ Sonia said. ‘‘The AICC and the PCC have also been galvanised. We must not allow manipulations in these lists,’’ she added. She said that in view of the ‘‘many challenges’’ that the party faces, it is the need of the hour that everyone ‘‘work collectively and cohesively’’ in a ‘‘selfless spirit of cooperation’’.

In a bid to lift the gloom that has descended over the party following the poll debacle, Sonia told her MPs: ‘‘I am aware a great deal of disappointment exists among us after the recent setback. But it does not help to carry on in this mood. We have to step out of it.’’

Referring to the polls in Andhra Pradesh, and not ruling out early Lok Sabha elections, Sonia said: ‘‘We have to be totally prepared and ready ourselves for the coming challenge.’’

Hinting at the much-speculated post-poll changes in the AICC, she said: ‘‘Steps to put together election management teams and strategies are already being taken.’’ She alleged that the FIR against former Union minister Dilip Singh Judeo was ‘‘deliberately delayed with the intention of sparing the BJP more embarrassment during the elections’’. She hoped the inquiry would be ‘‘impartial’’, noting that both the Home Minister and Law Minister had ‘‘acknowledged their role in the sting operation involving Ajit Jogi’’.

Lambasting the NDA Government for criticising the Congress governments of the past, Sonia said: ‘‘By repeatedly falsifying facts, the BJP is trying to invent a new reality. It is for all of use to counter this deliberate deceit…We must highlight BJP failures in a convincing and aggressive manner.’’

‘‘We will have our own positive campaign themes. But it is important to counter the propaganda that the BJP will undoubtedly mount in the months ahead against us,’’ she said.

Sonia charged that the Action Taken Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the stock market scam was a ‘‘white wash of a gigantic scandal’’. She called the ‘‘grim employment situation’’ as the ‘‘single most glaring economic failure’’ of the Centre. On the Telgi scam, she charged that the Finance Minister did not take any action on lapses pointed out by the Karnataka government.