Sonia Gandhi slams Left, BJP at Kochi rally

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday slammed the Left and the BJP and asked the mammoth gathering at a rally here "to vote for a party which strives for a united India".

"The choice is very clear... to vote for a party which strives for a united India or vote for one which is trying to divide our country," said Gandhi.

She said their rivals were asking people to vote for a change, but don't specify what change.

"We have been here for more than six decades and we have done lots. They wear a mask and hence we must resist them with all our might as we have to protect our secular ethos and the future of our country," said Gandhi, who arrived here on a day-long state visit.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2009 polls, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 16 and the principal opposition party (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front won four, while the BJP is yet to open its account in the 140-member Kerala assembly.

Taking on the CPI-M, Gandhi questioned what the principal opposition party had done here.

"All that they have done is to oppose all that the UPA government does and the choice before the people of Kerala is to vote for a party which is strong on its ideologies," she said.

"While we practice non-violence, they are engaged in brutal killings and murders," Gandhi said, which was received with a huge applause.

Gandhi also did not spare her partymen, who are known for their factional feuds and said, she does not belong to any group.

"For me, there is no 'this' group or 'that' group...for me there is only one group and that's the Congress party and we all should belong to that group only," she said.