Sonia to ask partymen to redouble efforts to fight terrorism

Nainital, Sep 22 (UNI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi will give a clarion call to partymen to redouble their efforts in the fight against terrorism and defeat communal and divisive forces in the assembly elections in some key states early next year when she inaugurates a two-day conclave of Congress Chief Ministers here tomorrow.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Ministers of all the 14 Congress-ruled states, senior Cabinet Ministers and top AICC functionaries will attend the conclave, being held in this scenic hill resort of Uttaranchal amid tight security.

Ms Gandhi, who arrives here early tomorrow morning, will declare open the meet at 1100 hrs, setting the tone for a threadbare discussion on several issues, mainly agrarian crisis and the internal security situation against the backdrop of the Mumbai and Malegaon terrorist strikes.

An AICC functionary told UNI that Prime Minister Singh would sensitise the Chief Ministers on issues confronting the UPA Government at the Centre and highlight the specific areas in which their assistance was required to gear up the party for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab and Manipur and the municipal polls in Delhi.

In his speech, Dr Singh would focus on the developmental works undertaken by his two-and-a-half-year government and ask the Chief Ministers to suggest mid-course corrections that were needed to face the electorate confidently in the assembly polls.

In the afternoon tomorrow, the floor would be thrown open to the Chief Ministers to make persentations on how far they have succeeded in implementing the decisions taken at their last meeting with the Prime Minister and the Congress President on price rise and agrarian crisis, especially in view of the continuing farmers' suicides.

The Chief Ministers who would attend the conclave are : Mr Y S Rajashekhara Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Mr Veerbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Mr Tarun Gogoi (Asom), Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad (J&K ), Mr Gegong Apang (Arunachal Pradesh), Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh (Maharashtra, Mr J D Rymbai (Meghalaya), Mr N D Tiwari (Uttaranachal), Mrs Sheila Dikshit (Delhi), Mr O Ibobi Singh (Manipur), Capt Amrinder Singh (Punjab), Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda(Haryana), Mr Pratapsinh Rane (Goa) and Mr N Rangaswamy ((Pondicherry).

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