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Journalism of Courage
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee today said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi would campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and that their programmes were being finalised.
Speaking in Kolkata, Mukherjee said: ‘‘We are bringing them because it would be beneficial for the party. They will draw crowds. They are already drawing crowds.’’ Meanwhile, about 813 block presidents of UP Youth Congress passed a resolution in Delhi asking party chief Sonia Gandhi to persuade Priyanka and Rahul, to join active politics ‘‘immediately’’.
To woo Muslim voters, the Youth Congress also passed another resolution demanding the party snap ties with the SP government. Coming just a day after SP leader Amar Singh met Sonia to invite her for his birthday, the resolution says the state government is ‘‘anti-Congress’’ and ‘‘anti-secular’’.
The resolution also stressed there should be no understanding between the Congress and the SP for the coming general elections. Incidentally, a meeting of the UP Congress Committee state executive is scheduled on January 28 to discuss the party’s continued support to the Mulayam government.
The Youth Congress resolution is also significant as the Congress-BSP talks are on for a coalition in various states, which would be the centrepiece of the party’s strategy.
Sonia refused to comment on the resolution demanding that ties with SP be snapped. While Manmohan Singh and Kamal Nath have been sent to sort out details of the Congress alliance with DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, Sonia said she herself would meet Karunanidhi ‘‘very soon’’.
On the BSP alliance, Mukherjee said the talks were on and added: ‘‘But in politics, nothing can be said for certain unless it is finalised.’’
