Sonia says defeat communal forces

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In a two-pronged attack on fundamentalism and corruption, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said majority and minority communalism are dangerous and must be defeated and favoured fast-tracking all corruption cases, including those of politicians.
Addressing the Congress plenary, she dwelt at length on the two subjects in the backdrop of a number of corruption charges hitting the party and the UPA government headed by it and the controversy surrounding Mr Rahul Gandhi’s comments about Hindu radicalism being “bigger threat” than groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
“The Congress makes no distinction between organisations of the majority and of the minority communities who indulge in communalism and related acts of terrorism. They are all dangerous, they must all be defeated,” Mrs Gandhi said in her 30-minute presidential address to the two-day plenary session that began on Sunday.
Maintaining that the Congress has always fought against all forms of communalism, regardless of their source, Mrs Gandhi said, “Communalism is the abuse of religion for narrow political purposes. It is the abuse of religion and to spread hatred and bigotry. It is the abuse of religion to polarise our society and to divide us.” In an apparent attack on saffron forces, she said the country cannot ignore the pernicious impact of individuals, institutions and ideologies that distort history and thrive on spreading religious prejudice and inciting people to violence using religion as a cover.
“The party must also engage with civil society and with professional experts from different disciplines in a regular and systematic manner... I do think it is now necessary to create a professional party thinktank to be run on institutional lines. We will take up this subject in the forthcoming conclave,” she said.
Mrs Gandhi came out with her full backing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling him an “embodiment of sobriety, dignity and integrity” at a time when the Opposition is levelling allegations of a drift in the government in the wake of scams. She dubbed the BJP’s personal attack on Singh “downright despicable”. “I want to say something about our Prime Minister. He is the embodiment of sobriety, dignity and integrity. On your behalf, I want to compliment him for his wise leadership, for remaining calm amidst the storm and for his unwavering devotion to the progress and prosperity of the nation,” she said.