CONG TO MAKE N-DEAL MAIN POLL ISSUE
Gurdaspur July 10:
The Congress will contest the next Lok Sabha elections by making the signing of the nuclear deal with the USA the main issue.
Stating this at a press conference here today, union minister of state for industries Ashwani Kumar said the party would keep its doors open for the Left parties after the next Lok Sabha elections for alliance despite the fact that they had opted out of the UPA over their differences with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue.
The minister said he was hopeful that people would favour the Congress on the issue of the nuclear deal, as it was in the interest of the country, “the fact which the Left parties blatantly ignored”. "The nuclear deal is best for the country. We have gone ahead on it and we hope that people will endorse over decision in the next Lok Sabha elections," said the minister, adding that by withdrawing support to the UPA government, the Left parties had shown that they were not sensitive to the sentiments of people of the country.
Lashing out at the SAD-BJP combine government for indulging in political vendetta against Congress leaders, he said in the past more than one year, this alliance had lost its popularity and credibility for “pursuing terror-oriented politics in Punjab”. When asked whether he was satisfied with the performance of Rajinder Kaur Bhattal as president of the state Congress unit and leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, he said he was nobody to judge the performance of Bhattal, as it was the job of the party's high command.
He, however, said he would continue to make efforts to bring together units in the state Congress unit. He said even though he was not in the race for nomination by the party as candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from the Gurdaspur seat, he would contest if asked by the party high command.
Gurdaspur July 10:
The Congress will contest the next Lok Sabha elections by making the signing of the nuclear deal with the USA the main issue.
Stating this at a press conference here today, union minister of state for industries Ashwani Kumar said the party would keep its doors open for the Left parties after the next Lok Sabha elections for alliance despite the fact that they had opted out of the UPA over their differences with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue.
The minister said he was hopeful that people would favour the Congress on the issue of the nuclear deal, as it was in the interest of the country, “the fact which the Left parties blatantly ignored”. "The nuclear deal is best for the country. We have gone ahead on it and we hope that people will endorse over decision in the next Lok Sabha elections," said the minister, adding that by withdrawing support to the UPA government, the Left parties had shown that they were not sensitive to the sentiments of people of the country.
Lashing out at the SAD-BJP combine government for indulging in political vendetta against Congress leaders, he said in the past more than one year, this alliance had lost its popularity and credibility for “pursuing terror-oriented politics in Punjab”. When asked whether he was satisfied with the performance of Rajinder Kaur Bhattal as president of the state Congress unit and leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, he said he was nobody to judge the performance of Bhattal, as it was the job of the party's high command.
He, however, said he would continue to make efforts to bring together units in the state Congress unit. He said even though he was not in the race for nomination by the party as candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from the Gurdaspur seat, he would contest if asked by the party high command.
