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| Sonia arriving today | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Dec 2: Congress president Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to arrive in the state tomorrow to address public meetings in Uri in north Kashmir and Doda district in support of party candidates.
Her speech at these two places is likely to give an indication as to how the Congress party proposes to deal with terrorism, as the issue has climbed back to the top of the political agenda in wake of the terror attack in Mumbai that left 183 dead and nearly 300 others wounded.
Sources said that there was no change in the secluded visit of Sonia Gandhi to two places in Jammu and Kashmir following Mumbai terror attacks. The visit comes in the wake of political crisis in Mumbai following the resignation of chief minister of India's commercial capital.
On November 28, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited Tanghdar in Karnah constituency on the Line of Control. In his maiden speech Rahul had promised to bring change to the remote region if the Congress came to power.
Sources said that director general of police Kuldeep Khoda took the stock of the security situation in Uri personally. After Uri, Sonia is scheduled to visit Doda district of Jammu region before flaying back to New Delhi. While Uri constituency is going for polls in the fourth phase on December 7, Doda falls under phase sixth of the seven phased election calendar to go for ballots on December17. Sources said that Prime Manmohan Singh is also visiting the state and is expected to visit in the second week of December. A congress leader here said the State Congress is hopeful that the visit of party's high command would help the party win in many constituencies.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to the state last Friday, had asserted his party was not soft on terrorism but termed the fight against terrorism as important as the fight against poverty. 'There has to be a simultaneous fight against the two,' he said.
Sonia Gandhi, who has been visiting Jammu and Kashmir on a regular basis since March 1998 when 26 Hindus were massacred in remote and hilly pockets of Udhampur, now part of the newly created Reasi district, always voiced determination in fighting terrorism.
During her campaign for the party in 2002 Assembly elections when the Congress confronted the ruling National Conference, she had vowed to restore peace in the state and rid it of terrorism.
However, this time around, her party was in power, heading the government until July this year, and she will have to defend its record.
Her speech at Uri, a town bordering Pakistan occupied Kashmir, will be significant especially as accusing fingers are being pointed at Pakistan after last week's terror attacks in Mumbai. |
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