Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SV)

Mangaluru, May 2: The district Congress committee on Monday May 2 protested in front of the DC's office here against the allegations made by Subramanian Swamy stating that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was involved in the AgustaWestland helicopter bribery scam.

Addressing the gathering, district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai, said, "Congress is a party that played a vital role in leading India towards Independence. All these years the party has implemented various schemes for the betterment of the poor, thereby building a strong nation. The current union government which came to power with the promise of development has failed completely in fulfilling its promises. The BJP is making allegations without any proof.

"During the tenure of Indira Gandhi various pro-poor schemes like nationalization of banks, issuance of title deeds and many other schemes were introduced. It is sad that Sangh Parivar outfits do not have any gratitude towards a person like Indira Gandhi who gave her life for the nation. Rajiv Gandhi who had introduced many schemes and strengthened the nation, ultimately gave his life for the nation. We condemn the false allegations made by the BJP and their associate organizations. They have defamed the image of the Nehru family who have always worked for the betterment of the people.

"Sonia Gandhi in spite of being requested to become the Prime Minister chose Dr Manmohan Singh for the post. Now the BJP and Subramanian Swamy are making false allegations against both Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh. It was Dr Singh's economic reforms that kept India strong during the economic slowdown. I give a call to all the party workers to protest and condemn the false allegations being made by the BJP," he said.

Mangaluru South MLA J R Lobo said, "BJP which came to power in the name of development has completely failed to fulfil its promises. BJP leaders always criticized the schemes implemented by the UPA government, but now, they have continued with the same schemes. They criticized Aadhar card but now, they ask for it everywhere to avail any benefit. During the tenure of the UPA, the crude oil price was 145 dollars per barrel and petrol cost Rs 80. But now, when the crude oil price is 45 dollars per barrel, petrol costs about Rs 60. This clearly shows that the Modi government is not transferring the benefits to the people. Various promises like bringing back black money, transferring Rs 15 lac in every individual's account, remain just promises. The BJP and Subramanian Swamy are unnecessarily making false accusations against Sonia Gandhi to gain political mileage. This is not a good development and we strongly condemn it."

MLC Ivan D'Souza said, "About six months back, Subramanian Swamy made a comment calling Sonia Gandhi a foreigner. Now he has targeted Sonia Gandhi again. The accusations made by him are completely baseless. We would have agreed if a responsible person in the government like the defence minister had spoken about the scam. The Italian court has not mentioned any individual's name and spoken only about the deal and the government. Therefore, no one has the right to level allegations against any individual. And if any one has objections, they could approach the court. We condemn the baseless allegations made by Subramanian Swamy."

MCC mayor Harinath, district Congress interim president Ibrahim Kodijal, Congress leaders P V Mohan, Denis D'Silva and others were present.