Sonia blames Cong's debacle on org weakness

New Delhi, May 16: Describing the Congress' performance in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as ''very disappointing'', party president Sonia Gandhi today blamed it on the organisational weakness.

''We mounted a spirited campaign through which we witnessed a great deal of goodwill and support towards our party but organisationally, we were not able to transform that goodwill into votes,'' Mrs Gandhi said while addressing a General Body Meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party(CPP) in the Central Hall of Parliament.

Acknowledging the ''dedication and hard work'' put in by each and every party member at all levels throughout the campaign, Mrs Gandhi said the party now faced a ''stupendous challenge that we accept and that we will meet with hard work and determination''.

She said communal forces had been dealt a severe blow in the UP polls and the party under whose leadership the state governance had completely collapsed had been unseated.

Referring to the approaching Assembly elections in Gujarat and Goa, Mrs Gandhi expressed apprehension that the BJP would again whip up communal passions to gain electoral advantage. "The BJP will undoubtedly raise communal tensions and passions." Stating that the Congress had done well in 2004 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, she said, "this gives both hope and confidence that the people of the state which gave birth to the Father of the Nation will vote for strengthening Gujarat's tradition of secularism and social harmony."

About the Assembly elections in Goa, Mrs Gandhi said. "Here too, we are confronting BJP whose single point programme is communal polarisation." Referring to fake encounters in Gujarat, the Congress president said the nation was witnessing shocking revelations on the manner in which sections of Gujarat police had been allowed to kill innocent people in the garb of fighting terrorism.

"It is apparent that these sections enjoy high level patronage," she said, adding this reflected utter and deliberate contempt for the rule of law to promote ideological prejudices. "This also reflects the blatantly partisan attitude of the state Government where an issue of human rights has been given a communal colour".

Deprecating the continuing attacks and atrocities on religious minorities in the BJP-ruled states, Mrs Gandhi said her party organisation had exposed the communal designs of the BJP in these states and hoped the Central Government would take a serious note of "these dangerous trends".

"I have also been very concerned at the continuing attack on the freedom of expression that we have seen of late in some parts of the country," she said, adding this kind of extreme intolerance went against the very spirit of the democracy.

Mrs Gandhi noted that the Congress-led UPA coalition government at the Centre would complete three years in a couple of days and congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "on reaching this milestone". Listing the Government's achievements, she said, "Our Government has achieved a great deal, whether through the introduction of new development schemes, the enactment of new laws, the strengthening of our secular fabric, the making of a transparent administration, the acceleration of economic gropwth and the launch of new programmes and initiatives, for the welfare of farmers, the weaker sections of society and the minorities.

Mrs Gandhi said the Government had taken steps to control the prices of essential commodities "and while these are having some impact, we must maintain the closest vigil on them."

UNI