Sonia slams TDP, BJP over poll pact; low turnout at rally

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today slammed Telugu Desam Party and BJP over their poll alliance in Andhra Pradesh, saying both were "two sides of the same coin" that were set to damage India's "secular" fabric.
"They are old friends and have come together once again. They will only strengthen the communal forces and damage our secular fabric. A vote for the TDP is a vote for the BJP," she warned, addressing an election meeting of the Congress that saw a very thin attendance here this evening.
A vote for the TDP-BJP combine would be a "divisive vote" that would spread disharmony, the UPA Chairperson said.

The Congress chief said it was only TDP that did not walk out from the NDA after the Godhra riots in Gujarat along with other outfits that left the BJP-led bloc.
"Only the Congress always stood for secular values and principles and never ever compromised on them. It is on these values and principles that (former PMs) Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi became martyrs."
Hitting out at YSR Congress, she recalled that late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was a loyal Congress leader.

"YSR was a valued and loyal member of our party. The Congress gave him an opportunity to serve the people and he worked hard to implement our policies."

Alluding to YSR's son and YSRC chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Gandhi said: "People who exploit his name choose to ignore the fact that YSR dedicated his entire life to the Congress. It's the Congress that gives us, including myself, an identity."
Saying that a vote for the Congress would be a support for a "new and resurgent Seemandhra", Gandhi appealed to the people to vote (on May 7) for a "strong, stable and secular" government led by her party in New Delhi.
Apparently in an indication of the anger among the people of Seemandhra region over Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation, empty chairs filled the Andhra Muslim College Grounds on the Ponnuru Road here as Gandhi addressed the party's election rally during her maiden visit to coastal Andhra after the division.