Sushma not to take on Sonia for Rae Bareli seat

Guwahati, Mar 26: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj today (Mar 26, 2006) said she would not take on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi when the latter runs for the Lok Sabha from Rae Bereli again.

Addressing the press here, Ms Swaraj said she was not against Ms Gandhi personally but was opposed to any person of foreign origin becoming the Prime Minister of the country.

She said the country's security would be put into jeapardy if a person of foreign origin was given the reigns of power and referred to the defreezing of Mr Quattrochi's accounts to susbstantiate her point.

Ms Swaraj refused to call Ms Gandhi's resignation from the Lok Sabha and the National Advisory Council an ''acts of sacrifice''.

Instead her resignation was aimed at saving herself from the embarrassment of being suspended, she claimed.

Ms Swaraj said the day Ms Gandhi tendered her resignation on March 23 was the martyrs' day and added that such acts as laying down one's life for the country were called sacrifice and Ms Gandhi's resignation could not be equated with such heroic acts.

She demanded redefinition of 'office of profit' in the floor of the House and flayed the government for trying to bring in changes through an ordinance.

Ms Swaraj said that Ms Gandhi's resignation would have no impact on the election results of Asom, West Bengal, Kerela, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.

The former Union Minister was on a three-day tour of Asom and would leave the state today.

UNI