Two days ago, Prime Minister addressed the nation on television. We strongly support what he said.
I find a certain comfort in this, and applaud the Hindustan Times for having established such a high reputation for organising these interactions.
We are meeting in the backdrop of three very significant commemorations the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising, the centenary of the launch of Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha movement and the 60th anniversary of our Independence.
This city has been renowned for its tolerance and integrated cultural traditions. It has nurtured and enriched Urdu and Telugu, Hinduism and Islam, Buddhism and Christianity giving it a unique composite social ethos. I am deeply saddened, however, by the news of the self-sacrifice of so many proud and brave sons of the soil in Warangal. My heart goes out to their families, and I convey my deep-felt condolences to them.
Karnataka has always been special to my family. The historic split in the Congress in 1969,which set the new agenda for the Party under Indira Gandhi and made it the Platform of the poor and downtrodden, took place here in Bangalore. How can I forget that when the party lost ground in most states and Indira Gandhi lost her election in 1977, it was Karnataka which incited her and sent her back to Parliament from Chickmangalur in 1978. My husband too launched his political career at the Youth Congress convention in Bangalore.
I would like to begin by congratulating the Prime Minister on your behalf for the historic achievement on the nuclear agreement.
Tomorrow is Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's 107th Birthday. It is a day on which we rededicate ourselves to his vision of a progressive India, while safeguarding her freedom and unity, and ensuring moral and material dignity for all its people, will work for peace, justice and brotherhood with the wider world.
Naional Convention of BCC and DCC Presidents
It is a privilege for me to be here this afternoon. Erode is famous all over the world for so many reasons. It is the home of one of the greatest social reformers and revolutionaries of the 20th century, Thanthai Periyar EV Ramasami, who still continues to inspire all of us.
The passage of the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement by the US Congress is a landmark development. It marks the successful culmination of a process initiated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in July 2005, a process which, guided by India's supreme national interest, the Congress Party has throughout endorsed.