The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Foreign origin issue rejected'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Foreign origin issue rejected'

By S. Ramu

NALGONDA, MAY 13. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson, S.Jaipal Reddy, said that people had "resoundingly and decisively'' rejected the issue of the foreign origin of the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, a poll plank of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). "The mandate given by the voters clearly shows that the BJP's propaganda over her foreign origin is a sham,'' he told The Hindu here on Thursday after being declared winner of the Miryalaguda Parliamentary constituency by an impressive margin of 2,16,907 votes against his nearest rival, Swami Goud, of the TDP. Asked whether Ms. Sonia Gandhi was going to be the next Prime Minister, Mr.Reddy said: "As the official spokesperson, I cannot answer the question at this juncture. But, we will garner support of all secular and Left parties to form a secular Government.'' To a question on the NDA's "India shining'' campaign, Mr.Reddy agreed that it had boomeranged on the BJP and its allies. "India shining campaign has never reached the people. When people know pretty well that the country is not shining, how can any one say that it is shining,'' he questioned. The senior politician gave three reasons for the electoral debacle of the BJP and its allies. One; the BJP lost the confidence of not only minorities but also of liberal thinkers. "India is a country with a glorious tradition of liberalism and our liberal roots are quite strong.

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