Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

`Oust TDP' is Congress agenda

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD DEC. 2. The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) has set a single-point agenda for the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) of ousting the Telugu Desam from power in the coming Assembly elections. "The misrule of N. Chandrababu Naidu must come to an end now and forever," it has been told.

Setting the political agenda for the party at the State-level election orientation camp for party leaders, the Congress Working Committee member and in-charge of the party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, here on Tuesday asked the cadres to work unitedly for "dislodging the TD from power as it had lost all credibility."

Accusing Mr. Naidu of joining hands with parochial and communal forces, Mr. Azad said: "The Telugu Desam has to prove its secular credentials first instead of questioning our agenda. It is hand in glove with the BJP, which is fomenting communal trouble in the country. It is the most opportunistic party ever."

The TD plea that it needed a fresh mandate was absurd as Mr. Naidu could not use the mandate given to him earlier to the State's advantage.

"He had two-thirds majority in the dissolved Assembly and yet could not implement his policies," he observed, adding that there was nothing that prevented Mr. Naidu from doing so.

On the issue of extremism, Mr. Azad said the Chief Minister should go to the genesis of naxalism and understand how misrule had contributed to the problem.

"Talks are a democratic norm and bigger problems have been solved through talks." Referring to the TD campaign that the Congress was a pro-naxalite party because it suggested talks, he asked whether he would brand the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, pro-Hurriyat for initiating talks with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asserting that the APCC was fully geared to face the elections, he said the names of members of the Telangana Coordination Committee would be finalised very soon. Alliances, however, would be decided by the AICC while keeping the interests of the party in the State, he added.

Mr.Azad urged those aspiring for ticket to focus on organisational work instead of making trips to Delhi.

Instructing the APCC to complete 90 per cent of its campaign work before filing of nominations, he said that there should not be any complacency and the potential of the individuals utilised optimally.

Party work must not come to a standstill because of any leader's absence in the constituency, he warned, and asked Congress leaders to coordinate their work better. Spelling out reasons for the success of the "Azad formula" for winning elections, he laid emphasis on greater coordination among State, district and block level committees.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• `Oust TDP' is Congress agenda
• Tourism Dept. to build on `Incredible India'
• Two killed in factory blast
• LTTE training PW cadres, says Swamy
• Ghulam Nabi Azad confers with Telangana Congress leaders
• Naidu seeks Israeli help for developing horticulture

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu