Agencies
New Delhi, Mar 11:
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday appealed the party MPs to be prepared for the upcoming state polls. The "populist budget" presented recently by the UPA government also featured prominently in the Congress President's speech, as she urged the party cadre to present its positive aspects to the common man.
Addressing the General Body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Panel, which is the first in the current Budget Session of Parliament, she told MPs to take the positive message of the Budget 2008-09 to the masses, amid indications that Congress leadership is attempting to maximise its gains in the forthcoming state polls.
Urging the lawmakers to exercise maximum restraint, Sonia Gandhi asked them to display unity and discipline in the wake of scheduled Assembly Elections and further consolidate the party's image at the grassroot level.
"We must select the candidates carefully.
We need to display unity and discipline for the upcoming polls, " she said.
Indirectly pointing towards the Maharshtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led violent anti-immigrant campaign, UPA chairperson said, "I deplore the idea of regionalism and it must be stopped."
Today's CPP meeting also holds significance, as Sonia Gandhi is likely to unveil the future plans for the party on Indo-US nuclear cooperation deal.
The CPP meet comes in the wake of the Communist Party of India's (CPI) recent warning that it would withdraw support from the UPA government if it goes ahead with the deal.
The Congress leadership, which held a preliminary discussion on its strategy on the agreement on March 7, expressed itself against annoying the Left over the deal at this juncture. Although the Government wanted to go ahead with it, the leadership was not convinced about taking a course that would precipitate a crisis at the Centre.
The CPP meeting is also important, as the UPA-Left Coordination Committee on the nuclear issue is likely to meet on March 17, to take stock of the negotiations with the IAEA.
Issues like the election results, the impending poll in Karnataka and the spiraling prices of essential items are likely to be considered during the meeting.
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