HYDERABAD, 11 March 2004 — On a day when Congress President Sonia Gandhi launched her party campaign in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party reiterated that her foreign origin was an important issue for the country.
Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party President N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has been taking pot-shots on the Italy-born Congress president, said: “Persons of foreign origin should not be entitled to occupy high elected positions in the country.” Naidu had, in the recent past, said that his party would seek enactment of a legislation by Parliament barring persons of foreign origin from occupying the posts of president, vice-president and prime minister. The party manifesto, however, remained silent on this proposal.
The Telugu Desam manifesto also reiterated the party’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of conduct in public life. It said that leaders should be guided by the principles of selflessness, integrity and accountability.
Elaborating on the Telugu Desam’s role at the national level, Naidu, whose party is extending outside support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Center and has electoral alliance with the BJP in the state, said that his party would be guided by the interest of the state and welfare of the people.
The Telugu Desam, he said, would contribute to the stability of the Central government, champion the cause of economic reforms, promote national integration, uphold the secular democratic fabric and promote value-based politics and good governance.
Sonia kicked off her party’s election campaign with a massive rally at Nandyal.
Attacking the NDA government and the Telugu Desam Party government in Andhra Pradesh, she said that their “wrong policies” were responsible for the suicide by scores of farmers and the sufferings of handloom weavers and other artisans in the state. She claimed that over 3,000 farmers committed suicide during the nine-year rule of Naidu.
A massive gathering attended the rally, the first of three such election meetings planned by Sonia during her three-day tour of the state. Congress leaders had mobilized crowds from Kurnool, Anantapur, Cuddapah and Mahbubnagar districts for the rally at Nandyal, 265 km south of Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalitha launched her campaign for the elections, sharply attacking Sonia over her foreign origin.
In numerous roadside meetings she has addressed since beginning her tour on Tuesday, she repeatedly called upon the voters to reject Sonia because she was not a born-in-India citizen.
The ruling AIADMK is contesting 33 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats, leaving six to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP is also contesting the lone seat in neighboring Pondicherry.
“Only an Indian should rule India and therefore the people should teach a lesson to forces which are out to threaten the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country,” the AIADMK chief said.
“Sonia Gandhi has now forged an alliance with the DMK, which supported the LTTE that was responsible for the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi,” she said.
