A strong Central Government, therefore, is the pre-requisite for preserving the security and integrity of our nation. This Session firmly believes that the Congress party has the will and capacity to ensure and acquire the support of the people of this country, for a viable and stable one-party government in the country.
The Congress party has never adopted any bias or prejudice while interacting with other political parties and neither is it influenced by any purely negative feeling. The support that the party is extending to the UF Government at the present juncture at the Centre is an illustration in point. This support shall continue as long as the democratic and secular commitments of the government exist and nothing is attempted or done which goes against the fundamental policies and programmes of the Congress Party.
The Congress party, will under no circumstances support or align with the BJP or any other communal combination as this would go against the basic tenets of the party. The latest developments clearly indicate that the RSS is gradually acquiring a tighter grip on the BJP and would in all respects be in effective control of the party. The most disquieting feature of this new political phenomenon is the fact that the rabidly communal feelings injected into the body politic of this country motivated a misguided young man to assassinate the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, all in the name of service of the country. The Congress Party is duty bound to warn the people of this country at a dihard entity like the RSS will have to be fought politically by all votaries of a democratic, secular and egalitarian dispensation. The Congress Party commits itself unreservedly to this task and hopes that other democratic and secular forces will realise the inherent danger in this new orientation of the BJP.
While blind anti-Congressism has been greatly diluted, certain Left parties continue to harbour these sentiments. It appears incongruous that these very parties have not hesitated to align with the BJP in the formation of governments in the past, specifically in 1977 and 1989. It is pertinent to recollect that on 1st July, 1988, at a meeting held at Calcutta, jointly addressed by Shri Jyoti Basu, Shri V.P. Singh and Shri A.B. Vajpayee, wherein these leaders announced that all the non-Congress parties must come together to fight the Congress Party. In retrospect, one can see that opportunism and blind anti-Congressism easily gives way to an alliance of communal parties. It is this inconsistency that has exposed the left parties from time to time. The Congress Party, in its long and chequered history, has never under any circumstances, tried to associate or align itself with any communal party or force...
Cong(I): Aicc's Political Resolution, On-Protection Of Minorities' Right
The Congress has always believed that the interest and causes of all the minorities are a sacred trust with the party. It is our duty to protect and promote their interest and make up for all the deficiencies in their educational, economic, social and political development. Special efforts have to be made to ensure their participation in full measure in the administration and political activities of the country.
CONG(I): CWC POLLS
Muslims Elected
Ahmed Patel (664)
Tariq Anwar (526)
G.N. Azad (349)
Muslims Defeated
A.R. Antulay (81)
Salman Khurshid (58)
Jaffer Sharief (23)
Others Elected
Jitendra Prasad (654)
N. Scindia (612)
Pranab Mukherjee (503)
R.K. Dhawan (421)
Arjun Singh (382)
Sharad Pawar (344)
Bhaskar Reddy (331)
Nominated
A.K. Antony
Meera Kumar
Oscar Fernandes
Congress Office Bearers
Sitaram Kesri President
Jitendra Prasad Vice President
Ahmed Patel Treasurer
M. Scindia General Secretary
T. Anwar Do
R.K. Dhawan Do
Oscar Fernandes Do
Meera Kumar Do
CPI(M) : On Congress Strategy
The Congress leadership succeeded in holding a full-fledged AICC session at Calcutta without engaging in any introspection about the causes for the debacle... The resolutions... have avoided any self-critical review of what was wrong with the Congress government's policies which led to its alienation from the people. The expression of regret on the demolition of the Babari Masjid underplays the responsibility of the Congress government... and comes too late...
The Congress leadership has sought to target the CPI(M) and the Left to cover up its own failures... The CPI(M) is the most consistent fighter against communism and for the people's interests. This is something which the Congress finds difficult to emulate... The Congress has failed to reorient itself for a comeback among the people. (Source: The People's Democracy, 17 August, 1997)
