Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh): Training his guns at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Varun Gandhi today (Apr 20, 2004) described her foreign origin as an "emotive issue" and lamented that Congress had failed to get a leader out of over 100 crore Indians.

"Foreign origin is an emotive issue. The country had earlier been a victim of colonialism and was ruled by foreigners for about 200 years," Varun, who recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his mother and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, said.

Elections 2004-The Drama unfolds...
Political Parties in India

Accusing Congress of having lost the confidence of the people, he said the party is seeking to impose its leader on the country, but it would fail miserably as the countrymen are capable of understanding its intentions.

He said BJP symbolises development and prosperity and the country has achieved speedy progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Hitting out at Congress leader Kamalnath, who was once a close friend of his father late Sanjay Gandhi, he said, "There are two Kamals in Chhindwara - one is only by name while the other means action."

Varun claimed that his father had handed over Chhindwara to Kamalnath, but he failed to fulfil his promises to develop the area.

During a brief interaction with reporters, Varun said his grandmother Indira Gandhi was not just a leader, but like a mother for the country and its people.