Sonia calls Modi regime dictatorial, Congress discusses way ahead

New Delhi Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of being dictatorial antifarmer and antipoor as the party deliberated on its strategy for electoral revival and organisational revamp at a meeting of its working committeeIn her address to the Congress Working Committee CWC meeting the partys highest decisdionmaking body Gandhi attacked Modis silence on provocative statements and speeches by some of his ministers and party leaders saying it was an extension of the partys strategy of polarization seen in the runup to the 2014 Lok Sabha election as well as the recent assembly pollsNarendra Modi and Sonia GandhiShe also criticized the government for destroying the Land Acquisition Act The Land Acquisition Act came into effect after wideranging talks and consultations but this government has effectively destroyed this landmark legislation and brought back the law passed by the British in 1894 through the back door she saidSuggesting a nationwide campaign be launched to create awareness about the dictatorial tendencies of the government Gandhi expressed concern over the governments antifarmer and antipoor policiesWhile the prime minster makes much of lowering inflation he doesnt mention how he has lowered the income of farmers His government has increased the MSP minimum support price to select crops only by 3 percent The MSP of certain crops such as cotton has now gone below cultivation price causing several farmers to commit suicide she saidA day after the Delhi polls were announced for feb 7 the party chief entrusted general secretary Ajay Maken to lead the campaign in the national capital for the party which is intent on improving its performance Against the backdrop of reverses in the assembly polls over the past six months following its debacle in the Lok Sabah election last year Gandhi expressed hope for new beginning for the party in 2015As a plan to revitalize the eroding partys support base across the country she projected the expansion of party workers base as the key We will use our ongoing membership enrollment programme to launch a mass contact mission which has to be unprecedented in scale and scope she saidUnderscoring the importance of empowering grassroots workers Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also present at the meeting laid a special emphasis on consulting their sentiments before any organizational plan was hammered outSonia Gandhi also criticized the Modi government for taking the ordinance route and bypassing parliament on all crucial matters saying the countrys democratic institutions are being undermined The BJPled government has already promulgated 10 ordinances in its sevenmonth tenure that signaled the governments pernicious notion that ordinances were akin to good governanceThe ordinance on coal mines she said has surreptitiously undone the spirit of nationalization of coal mines that had crucial safeguards She also denounced the Modi government for diluting welfare policies such as the rural job scheme the Food Security Act Forest Rights Act and self help groups institutions With target on resurrection of partys electoral fortunes the Congress president called upon the party workers to bring about changes in the structural and leadership of the partyThe way forward should be that we go back to the people All of us from AICC down to the block level need to renew ties and connections with the people everywhere she said while urging the CWC members to brainstorm and propose ways and means to reach out to the masses and make this Modi government answerable and accountableEarlier party leader Ambika Soni said after the fourhourlong meeting that discussion on Rahul Gandhis prospective elevation to the partys presidency was not on the agenda Rahul Gandhi is our vice president and he is playing a very prominent role He is also guiding from upfront on many organisational matters But today Tuesday we spoke on the agenda connected with organisational matters only she said