'Sonia as PM would be a disgrace to the nation' Friday, May 14 2004 21:57 Hrs (IST)
New Delhi:
Adopting an aggressive posture on the issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) today (May 14, 2004) said it would be a "disgrace" to the nation if an "Italian leader" was foisted as its Prime Minister and people will not accept any such decision quietly.
"It will be a disgrace to the nation if the Congress Party together with retrograde Communist parties tries to foist an Italian leader as Prime Minister on the country. All self-respecting and freedom loving people of this country will be greatly hurt if any such mishap occurs," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said.
Asserting that the poll verdict was a "fractured mandate", he said, "The Congress Party had not secured the mandate of the people. The mandate is evenly split between Congress and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and parties like NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) and Samajwadi Party which had opposed her on the foreign origin issue have got a bigger mandate."
The RSS leader also accused the Left parties of cheating the nation till few days before the elections saying that Gandhi will not be made the Prime Minister.
"If they foist her, it will be cheating the people of the country and people will not accept any such decision quietly," he added.