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Sonia, Left leaders's meet sparks speculation

In a significant political development, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Left party leaders Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Indrajit Gupta on Friday.

The meeting assumes significance since both the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India-Marxist have announced their support for Congress candidate P M Sayeed for the Lok Sabha deputy speaker's post.

Sources close to Surjeet said the leaders discussed the political situation in the country. It is not clear whether the leaders discussed the possibility of an alternate government at the Centre.

Fuelling such rumours was Sonia's statement that the Congress should be strengthened to prevent destructive forces from occupying power, harming the country.

This has become all the more important as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has failed to keep any of its commitments to the people, she said while inaugurating a political training camp organised by the All India Mahila Congress.

She reiterated the party's commitment to 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and assemblies and said it was essential to identify capable women who would help in the legislatures and try to find solutions to the problems of the people. However, women should not make fighting elections and getting tickets their main aim as there were many other ways of serving the community, she said.

Sonia said she was aware that injustice had been done to women during ticket distribution. She announced that she has constituted a committee headed by K Karunakaran to look after the needs of the weaker sections including women.

UNI

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