06-06-2011, 02:59 AM
[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Sonia-calls-for-counter-attack/H1-Article1-706149.aspx"]Sonia calls for counter attack[/url]
Quote:The gloves are off. Under attack from all sides for the action against Ramdev, Sonia Gandhi now plans an offensive to counter the after-effects and take on the communal and other forces who, it charged, have joined hands to weaken democratic institutions. ââ¬ÅThe party has accepted the challenge,ââ¬Â said general secretary Janardan Dwivedi after Gandhi met office-bearers, state in-charges and the four ministers who were talking to Ramdev to call off his fast.
In a thinly veiled attack on the RSS and BJP, he said there are political and communal forces, who, after failing to get a mandate, try to come to the fore by weakening constitutional and democratic institutions.
Dwivedi refused to say if the party backed the police action against Ramdev: ââ¬ÅWe do not discuss individualsââ¬Â¦.The person mentioned is nothing and is supported by other forces.ââ¬Â
Fuming that the Congress and Gandhi were being targeted, the party directed its workers to unite against this onslaught and propagate the partyââ¬â¢s policies and achievements.
Earlier, Congress leaders justified the police act while accusing Ramdev of betrayal and failure to abide by his commitment to call off the fast.
[color="#FF0000"]But finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, whose visit to Delhi airport for talks with Ramdev had upset several Congress leaders, struck a different note.
He termed the police action ââ¬Åunfortunateââ¬Â and said the issues raised by the yoga guru needed to be addressed.
ââ¬ÅWhen negotiations were conducted, he said he would confine his protest to three days. If he would have stuck to this, then these turn of events would not have happened,ââ¬Â he said.[/color]