Bouyed by the victory in Karnataka bypolls, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that the UPA Government will continue till the very end, thereby ruling out possibility of early lok Sabha elections.
Interacting with media persons here after inaugurating the National Media Centre along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia said the Congress is battle ready for elections and exuded confidence that the five rights given by the UPA government will bring it back to power again.
Asked whether the UPA III will come to power, Sonia emphatically said, “Yes, certainly. 100 percent.”
The victory of Congress candidates in two lok Sabha seats from Karnataka, appears to have boosted her confidence about party’s electoral prospects despite the UPA government facing a tough time on charges of corruption and with various scams hitting headlines even as the sliding rupee and price rise continues to haunt it.
The falling economy’s and the government’s hurry to pass food security bill had led to speculations about the Congress opting for lok Sabha polls along with assembly elections in five states later this year.
About the party’s preparations for the assembly and lok Sabha polls, Sonia said that with elections happening in one or the other part of the country, the party is ever ready for it.
“We have adopted a right-based approach by giving five rights including right to information, right to education, right to work and now right to food. It is our USP,” she said.
Asked whether she would speak on her dream food security Bill in the lok Sabha on Monday, a smiling Sonia said, “A little bit. I will say few sentences.”
About the ongoing agitation against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Sonia said the government is going to constitute a panel to look into the matter while the three member committee headed by Defence Minister A K Antony is already hearing grievances of these people.
Expressing her agony over the Mumbai rape incident, Sonia said, “It is a heinous crime. I am saddened and pained over the gangrape of a photojournalist in Mumbai.”
Earlier, Sonia lauded evolution of media into a mature institution that cherishes its freedom and independence while exercising commendable responsibility. “I wonder whether this could be because such a large number of women are now an integral part of this profession.”
At times the language and dignity of media discussion is found wanting and sometimes it makes political establishment uncomfortable, she said but welcomed its watchdog role and well-founded, well-intentioned criticisms of policies and programmes. Media and government often disagree, but this can be healthy with no intrinsic antagonism between the two, she said.
Sonia has FB trouble! Congress President Sonia Gandhi shared her difficulty in grasping new media tools like Facebook, Twitter etc, which her party and the government is increasingly using. to woo youngsters. She said she prefers newspapers. “I am not on Facebook or Twitter. The modern world has spawned new media and channels of communication, many of which I must confess, people of my generation have a difficult time in grasping - at least I do,” she said.