Chandigarh: The Congress president Sonia Gandhi charged the government with supporting some communal forces bent upon undermining the unity of the country and asked the people to foil their evil designs.

"Such communal forces are getting political as well as governmental support which is boosting their confidence. There is a need to boldly face such forces and prevent them from succeeding in their conspiracy," the Congress chief said addressing an ex- servicemen rally in Chandigarh.

She said that the experiment of such forces to disturb peace in Gujarat had failed. "These forces wanted to create a Gujarat-like situation in the rest of the country, but failed to achieve success," she added.

The Congress president claimed that her party would give a strong reply to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat and form the next government.

Gandhi, in her 14-minute address to the ex-servicemen drawn from Northern states of the country, said that people of Gujarat want peace, prosperity and development.

PTI