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Sharad wants Sonia to stay

Sonia Gandhi is not good enough for the country, but she is good enough for the Congress.

Senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar, who kick-started the anti-Sonia revolt, reiterated Wednesday that he favoured her continuation as Congress president.

Talking to reporters at a crowded press conference in Pune, he however was steadfast in his demand that people of foreign origin should not hold high offices. The demand, he repeated, should be included in the party's election manifesto.

Pawar said that since Gandhi took over as president, the party's position has improved considerably. Under her leadership the exodus of disenchanted Congressmen had stopped and they started returning to the fold.

Gandhi's continuation, therefore, Pawar added, was in the Congress's interest.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress continued its pressure tactics to persuade Sonia to stay. Most office-bearers, including state unit president Prataprao Bhosale, have resigned and rushed to Delhi.

The hunger strikes continued at the Tilak Bhavan, the party's state headquarters in Bombay, where Pradesh Mahila Congress members could also be seen on dharna. PMC chairperson Rajani Patil also resigned from her post to express solidarity with Gandhi.

In a letter Patil said that mere birth, in a particular caste and land, cannot be the sole criteria for leadership. What was needed was 'sensitive social commitment and dedication'. She described the act of Pawar, Sangma and Anwar as ''irresponsible'' and ''childish''.

Besides Patil, 12 other women office-bearers of the Pradesh Mahila Congress faxed their resignations to the party high command and vowed to continue their hunger strike till Gandhi relented.

Former state chief minister A R Antulay, a bitter critic of Pawar, has also written to Gandhi expressing his support. He wondered how Sangma and Anwar ''fell prey to Mr Pawar's machinations''.

MPCC general secretary Kripashankar Singh said several District Congress Committee members, including legislators like Amrishbhai Patel, Anantrao Thopte, Sunil Tatkare, Avinash Ghate, Manohar Patwari and Shahjibapu Patil, have expressed their support to Gandhi.

Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council Chhagan Bhujbal, who was summoned by the Congress Working Committee for its meeting in Delhi Wednesday, was in Bombay till afternoon. His counterpart in the assembly Madhukar Pichad was in Kerala.

Meanwhile, the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance is in a jubilant mood. Says BJP spokesperson Prakash Jawadekar:

''The BJP has decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy over the developments. We will wait for the final decision of the CWC and the future course of action of Mr Pawar.''

Chief Minister Narayan Rane was ecstatic. He said that the tide would definitely turn in favour of the alliance in the state.

In the last Lok Sabha election, the main poll plank of the Congress-Samajwadi Party-Revolutionary Party of India alliance was the failure of the Sena-BJP government, then led by Manohar Joshi, to curb violence in the city. Corruption charges against various ministers and a united opposition had thereafter sealed the fate of the Shiv Sena-BJP, which could manage only 10 seats.

UNI

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