Sunday, February 20 2005 17:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Itanagar: The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today (Feb 20, 2005) said that politics should not be the means of grabbing power only, political power should be used to serve people and fulfill their dreams.

''I learnt this from Congress and my family,'' she asserted as chief guest at the 19th Arunachal Pradesh statehood day rally in Itanagar.

Sonia appealed to to Chief Minister of the State, Gegong Apang, and the APCC (Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee) president, Mukut Mithi, and other Congress leaders to maintain the culture.

She also thanked the people of Arunachal Pradesh for bringing back her party to power in the State rejecting the divisive forces in the October Assembly election.

Congress would fulfill its promises to the State, she assured those gathered. Though contrary to the expectation, Sonia did not promise any economic package to the State, she, however, did indicate re-opening of border trade through traditional routes with Myanmar, Bhutam and Tibet.

She said that the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was making efforts to upgrade economic and other ties with China and Japan under the 'look-east' policy, and Arunachal Pradesh would stand to benefit once the traditional routes to Myanmar, Bhutan and Tibet reopened.

She said that Rajiv Gandhi had gone to Assam, Tripura and Punjab to stop violence there and called upon the insurgents of the Northeast to come to negotiation table for settlement of their demands.