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Congress workers take to streets

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, MAY 19. Congress leaders and workers in Madhya Pradesh today gave expression to their anguish over the party president, Sonia Gandhi's refusal to accept the Prime Minister's post by burning effigies of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, and the senior BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, at different places here in the Capital and other parts of the State.

The Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress president, Meenakshi Natrajan, led a protest demonstration in front of the Chief Minister's official residence. The agitated Youth Congress members courted arrest after shouting slogans and burning effigies of Ms. Bharti and Ms. Swaraj -- the two prominent BJP leaders who had come out openly to oppose Ms. Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister.

In a strongly worded message to the Chief Minister, Ms Natarajan said that Ms. Bharti should go to the Kedarnath shrine and devote all her time there singing bhajans.

Demonstrations were also held by Congress workers in Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and other parts of the State. The Congressmen, who came out on the road in large numbers on a call given by the PCC president, Shubhash Yadav, kept shouting pro-Sonia slogans.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary and spokesman, Manak Agrawal, said that the people "only want to see Ms. Gandhi as Prime Minister". She is the only leader who can provide leadership and fight the communal forces, he asserted.

Mr. Agrawal said that the voters had given their mandate to Ms. Gandhi and this had also been asserted by the newly-elected Congress MPs who are unanimous in emphasising that throughout their campaign they had sought votes only in the name of Ms. Gandhi. Reacting to Ms. Bharti's resignation, which she had given to the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, yesterday, the MPCC spokesman said "if Ms. Bahrti was serious about her resignation, she should have sent it directly to the State Governor".

Mr. Agrawal further alleged that Ms. Bharti had misused her constitutional position by seeking an appointment with the President in her capacity as Chief Minister only to oppose Ms. Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister.

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