UPA fulfilled "almost" all poll promises: Sonia Gandhi, slams oppn for baseless charges

SASARAM (BIHAR): Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said the UPA had fulfilled "almost" all the poll promises it made to people in 2004 and 2009, rejecting as baseless and "far from the truth" the Opposition charge of non-performance during its 10-year-old rule.

Kickstarting her maiden poll campign in Bihar, Gandhi also took a jibe at the BJP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for "changing face from time to time" and said they could not be true friends of the people.

"The country is passing through an examination and those changing face from time to time cannot be your true friends," Gandhi said while campaigning for Lok Speaker Meira Kumar, who is the Congress candidate from Sasaram Parliamentary constituency.

"Log samay samay par apna chehra badalte hain aur apne nakamiyo ko chipane ke liye Congress par arop lagate hai (People change face from time to time and to shield their failures, blame Congress)," she said during her address here.

Accusing the opposition parties of levelling baseless charges of non-performance against the UPA, Gandhi said this is far from the truth. "They are throwing dust in the eyes of people only for sake of the chair," she added.

Attacking BJP, she said the party was acting as if only they had done all the development work in the country and others did not do anything.

"Kewal wo hi sache hai (only they are true)," she said. "Loktantra ko muthi me karna chahte hai (they want to seize democracy in their fist)," she said, adding that Congress was needed for development and communal harmony in the country.

Gandhi also attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar without naming him.

"Some people in a bid to shield their failure blame the Congress," she said.

Referring to enactment of MNREGA, Right to Education, Food Security Law and Land Acquisition law, the UPA Chairperson praised the performance of the Manmohan Singh government in last 10 years and said the ruling coalition had fulfilled "almost" all the promises it made before Lok Sabha polls in 2004 as well as in 2009.

Reminding people of the glorious history of Congress, Gandhi said the party ushered in development of all states without political considerations and worked tirelessly to maintain communal harmony in the country.

Gandhi also invoked dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram's name and praised his daughter Meira Kumar for carrying forward the work initiated by him.