HYDERABAD: The All India Congress Committee on Sunday agreed to pursue a twin-pronged political strategy for the party to come to power on its own while retaining the current approach on coalition politics.

This was the thrust of the political resolution adopted by the party after three hours of debate here.

The party ruled out any compromise or understanding with the Left parties in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura and promised to "confront and fight" the four parties supporting the United Progressive Alliance from outside.

The resolution, however, did not say how the party would respond in the States where its allies are dominant.

The closest it came was a formulation, suggesting that even in a coalition, political parties do not have to give up the expectation or aspiration of securing a larger political space.

The resolution emphasised the need to chalk out a path that would not disturb the current arrangement but give the organisation space to "work relentlessly for revival and return to power on its own steam."

While backing the party's commitment for the success of the 20-month UPA Government and completion of the rest of its term, the resolution sought to impress on the coalition partners the need for collective responsibility in the arrangement.

"Coalition means that all parties in partnership follow a basic discipline, especially in public. In their anxiety to protect and project their own individual party line, if any coalition partner crosses or is seen to be crossing the limits of constructive criticism, then the coalition is weakened and its public credibility eroded. There is a thing called collective responsibility in a coalition that must be adhere to at all times," the resolution said.

The Congress believed that differences could be resolved through dialogue and discussion among the supporting parties. As the coalition leader, the party was conscious of its responsibilities and acknowledged the contribution of the partners.

While moving the resolution, senior leader Arjun Singh said the party men must ponder whether they were measuring up to the "supreme sacrifice" of Sonia Gandhi by doing their bit for the party or leaving the task for her to `do everything for us'.

Speakers after Mr. Singh, be it Vayalar Ravi or Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, attacked the Left parties. Mr. Dasmunsi claimed that down the years, Congress leaders demonstrated it was the only Left of Centre party in the country.

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