Despite good economic growth, Congress isolated politically, says Chidambaram

Despite the country showing good economic growth in the last ten years, Congress has become politically isolated at the all-India level and party leaders should find ways to overcome this, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.

Congress has been isolated politically in Tamil Nadu also, Chidambaram said. "It is a testing time for the party and the leaders of the party should find out ways to overcome the hurdles," he said at a party workers' meeting.

The country had achieved seven per cent economic growth in the last two years, and earlier it was eight per cent, he said. It also brought several revolutionary schemes and acts such as the National Employment Guarantee Programme, Compulsory Education for all and Law to protect women against violence.

The government's development programmes had led to major development in some areas, good development in other areas, and "not satisfactory" development in some areas, but the country had achieved overall development, he said. Without naming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he said BJP had projected one person as its Prime Ministerial candidate.

The BJP was one face of the RSS, he said. The upcoming general elections will be a fight between Congress and RSS and not BJP, Chidambaram said. "Only with the help of people we can fight forces like RSS. We have to fight the dominant forces..the Hindu dominant forces (even after the Lok Sabha elections)," he said.

Referring to the situation in Tamil Nadu, he said Congress had been isolated politically at Tamil Nadu also. "But Congress cannot compromise on its principles and policies. It is our duty to face the elections..we should find ways to fight the elections in the present scenario." The Finance Minister was of the view that there were not many youngsters in the party state unit.

People from all communities should be given positions, he said, adding that old people should give way to youngsters. Chidamabaram asked Congressmen in the state to abide by the decisions taken by the party high command.

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