NEW DELHI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday attacked
the Congress for failing to provide an alternative to the NDA
government and competing with the BJP in exploiting Hindutva.

Meeting here at a day-long conclave in the wake of renewed efforts
at anti-BJP opposition moves, the NCP continued with its stance
against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Re-elected the party's chief,
former union minister and Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar
said: "The Congress and BJP are competing with each other in
exploiting Hindutva for electoral gains."

He also said judging by the manner in which Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Digvijay Singh was raising the issue of Hindutva, it seemed
that there was hardly any difference between him and BJP leader Uma
Bharati.

In its political resolution, the NCP criticised the Congress for
its failure to provide an alternative to the BJP-led NDA government
and asserted that it would intensify its efforts to bring together
all secular forces.

"The Congress, which is the main opposition party, has proved to be
a failure to provide an alternative, both in Parliament and
outside....The NCP will endeavour to work towards dislodging the BJP-
led NDA government and intensify its efforts to bring about better
coordination amongst like-minded secular parties", the resolution
said.

Stating that the BJP might try to foist a mid-term election on the
country if it did well in the coming assembly elections in four
states, Pawar asked his partymen to strengthen the organisation and
be prepared to face any challenge.

Party general secretaries Tariq Anwar and P A Sangma categorically
ruled out returning to the Congress. "The Congress is spreading
propaganda that NCP is returning to its fold. But we would like to
make it very clear that we are not going back," they said.