Sonia Gandhi today unveiled the strategy that the Congress and UPA will follow to counter the widespread perception that the government is beset with corruption and scams.
Speaking at a Congress party event in Varanasi, the President of the party said no other government in India’s history has taken the kind of action against corrupt elements as hers.
“Has NDA taken such strong steps against corruption? Those who sit in glass houses should not throw stones at others,” Gandhi said, to applause from the party workers.
The Congress and its UPA alliance has had to pay a heavy price for perceived corruption and scams surrounding the central government. In Tamil Nadu, voters relegated the DMK — Congress’ senior partner in Tamil Nadu — to the third biggest party with just 15% of the seats. DMK is not even big enough to qualify as the main opposition party.
Gandhi, however, put a positive spin on the election results, pointing out that the Congress and its partners have come to power in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Assam.
“The left parties have been totally cleaned out,” she said, pointing to the end of the 34-year-old Left government in West Bengal. In Kerala, the Congress managed a very thin margin of 2 seats to come back to power.