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Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asserted that the Congress is the "natural" party of governance and that the people of India are recognising this fact.
"The nation's eyes are upon us. The expectations are very high," she told a conclave of 14 Congress chief ministers in Guwahati.
"A historic responsibility is upon all of us, but more directly on all of you - the chief ministers," she said in her opening speech at the two-day conclave.
During her 40-minute address Sonia said: "I can hardly over-emphasise the centrality of good, effective governance and the need for a new administrative culture. Good governance has many dimensions but at its most fundamental level ensuring law and order, maintaining social peace and harmony is good governance."
Congratulating the party for having added three more states under its belt in the last elections, Sonia said: "We cannot afford to rest on our laurels."
Setting the agenda for the Congress manifesto for the coming elections, Sonia reminded the chief ministers: "We are not here for self-congratulations but for critical appraisal and to identify what more we need to do to fulfill our commitments to the people, especially to the weaker sections of the society."
She reminded the chief ministers that a large number of schemes remain unimplemented since the states' share is not disbursed properly. "Such a situation is not acceptable," she said.
Drawing the attention of the Congress-ruled states towards some of the major problems facing the people, Sonia pointedly talked about the AIDS menace and the low sex ratio.
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