Congress Only Option for Stable Government: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday claimed that her party was the only one capable of providing the country with a stable government at the center and came down hard on political rivals attacking prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Addressing voters in the Himachal Pradesh capital of Simla, Gandhi said: “The Congress party is the only party that can provide a stable government under the leadership of Manmohan Singh.”

Terming her party as “the need of the hour,” Gandhi claimed that her party with the wherewithal to provide a strong and secular government.

While negating the need for any performance certificates from rivals she blistered the BJP over the 1999 Kandahar hijack-hostage crisis.

“It’s the BJP government which had released the terrorists as guests,” she alleged.

Attempting to take the steam out of the laent political groupings, Gandhi said: “Tarah tarah ke morche ban rahe hain desh me, par inka lakshya sirf PM ki kursi hai.

Lampooning booming political aspirations amid the bitterly fought electoral melee, she said that being in the race for the top post had become a fashion.

Contrary to the opposition campaign in the state, Gandhi said that the UPA government had not discriminated against Himachal Pradesh which is ruled by the BJP and claimed that people in the state were benefiting from the various welfare schemes initiated by the central government.

The four LS segments in the state – Shimla (reserved), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra – go to the hustings on May 13 and Gandhi was hoping to at least retain the three seats the Congress scored in 2004.