Chennai: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today (Feb 13, 2004) asked the people of Tamil Nadu to "decisively reject" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its partners in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

"In the coming historic Lok Sabha polls, the greatest challenge is to peace from communal forces and we have to save the country of Mahatma Gandhi from these elements", she said, addressing Congress workers after unveiling a statue of former Congress leader Late K Kamaraj.

Sonia Gandhi said the Congress party had to install in Tamil Nadu "the Kamaraj era" through restoration of politics of service, politics of concern for the common man, politics of transparency in Government and politics of good governance.

Turning her ire on BJP and Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, the Congress president said the Cauvery delta had now become a "desert" because of the "failure" of the Prime Minister in his capacity as chairman of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to resolve the issue amicably.

"After the elections, if an alternative Government headed by Congress is formed at the Centre, it will dedicate itself to find a solution, which will be fair to the farmers of both the States (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu), without detriment to the interests of the nation," she said, amidst applause from the jam-packed Kamaraj auditorium.

Gandhi said Tamil Nadu had traditionally been a "shining example" of communal harmony and except for a "few aberrations" on minorities, the State had always lived with the religious majority peacefully in an atmosphere of brotherhood, with no social tensions, that were being witnessed in other parts of the country.

"You have never given any foothold to BJP and the social distortions that it represents," she said.

In her 25-minute speech (with Tamil translation), the Congress leader reminded party workers that their campaign should be "constructive", focussing on the problems of the people and issues that concerned them.