Sonia calls for unity to beat back Pak terror

The Indo-Pak face-off shadowed Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s speech at a party rally to mark Rajiv Gandhi’s eleventh death anniversary today as she sought to set aside the bitter political confrontation over Gujarat by calling for ‘‘social unity’’ to meet the challenge from across the border. Only a unified society can meet the challenges the nation faces today, she declared as she warned of ‘‘war clouds hovering over the nation’’.

Her speech signalled her intention to set a sober tone for Saturday’s AICC session in view of the heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the May 14 massacre in Jammu. Her reference to the communal violence in Gujarat was brief and although she blamed ‘‘certain forces seeking to spread violence, hate and poison’’ to destroy the social fabric of the country, she refrained from naming the RSS or its affiliated organisations.

Describing Gujarat violence as part of a larger conspiracy ‘‘to drown the country in a cauldron of hate’’, she called on the people to fight it. In an oblique criticism of the Government’s economic and other policies, Sonia said the younger generation is worried about its future today because of uncertainties. But she asked it not to be misled by mischievous elements.

The better part of her speech was devoted to paying tributes to Rajiv who she said had raised hopes of a generational change in leadership which would take the country into the 21st century.