Sonia on offensive in TN, seeks clear mandate

Elsewhere, in Kurnool, harping on the age-old stability plank of the Congress, Sonia Gandhi sought a clear mandate for the party in the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha, stating that the country cannotafford “communal or unstable governments provided by a coalition.”

`The country has seen seven prime ministers in the five years of non-Congress coalition governments at the Centre. On the other hand, the Congress ruled the nation for 45 years under just five prime ministers,” she averred while addressing a massive public meeting at the STBC College Grounds here.

The turnout was impressive, but the meeting which lasted 40 minutes, was totally disorganised. In the absence of proper barricading, the huge crowd repeatedly surged forward to catch a glimpse of Sonia and her son Rahul. The poor translation of Sonia’s speech by former minister V Rambhoopal Chowdary only made the crowd grow more restive.

The public perched themselves on adjacent buildings and trees. Throughout Sonia’s speech, Rahul kept waving to please the crowd, but it did not help.

On more than one occasion, former chief minister Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, who is contesting from here, appealed to the crowd to remain silent. At onestage, the mob pushed forward to the VIP and Press stands forcing mediapersons to vacate the place lest they get trampled upon. Unmindful of the noise, Sonia continued with her speech though she did inquire twice about the cause of the trouble. In what has now become a routine address, Sonia mainly attacked `communal forces and coalition governments’. She accused certain political parties of dividing the people on caste and religious lines and sowing seeds of jealousy, insecurity and suspicion.