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Sonia regrets flexing of nuclear muscle

The Congress party on Thursday called upon the government to exercise restraint in the light of the country going nuclear, and said real strength lay in not brandishing it.

In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government for adopting what she said was a threatening posture towards its neighbours after the country acquired nuclear power, Congress president Sonia Gandhi observed that apart from national security, the people needed development, progress and alleviation of poverty. She was addressing her party workers on the occasion of the seventh death anniversary of her slain husband, Rajiv Gandhi at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

She said the country was drifting towards "darkness" and the concept of unity in diversity, hallmark of the nation, was facing peril from divisive forces which advocated cultural nationalism. This dangerous concept posed a serious threat to the unity and integrity of the country, and the Congress can no longer remain a passive spectator and tolerate people accepting such a dangerous trend, she added.

Gandhi said the congress alone could give a befitting reply to the forces wanting to divide the nation on the lines of religion, region and language. The Congress under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi used science and technology for improving the quality of life and took measures to remove poverty and spread education. He was emotionally attached to empowering local bodies with monetary and executive powers, she added.

She said the partymen would have to fight to strengthen the party so that it could regain its proud position by spreading the capabilities of the party. ''We will have to fight for our cherished values, and remain alert on all occasions,'' she exhorted.

She said the Congress was observing Rajiv Gandhi's seventh death anniversary as Sankalp Diwas, and would help the victims of violence and terrorism. She said she was at a loss for words after witnessing the gory scenes of terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

UNI

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