LATUR, AUG 19: Taking pot shots at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for trying to sneak through public attention to file her nomination papers from a `safe' Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, BJP leader L K Advani has challenged her to a television debate with Sushma Swaraj and prove her mettle to the public.``The Congressmen thought they were too clever to play games with us. But we outwitted them as Sushma Swaraj marched into the very same returning officer's office in Bellary to put in her papers within ten minutes of Sonia filing hers,'' said Advani addressing the huge crowd gathered at the Rajasthan High School ground here on Thursday.
Focusing his speech on Kargil, Sonia and Vajpayee, Advani said it was high time the nation send the Congress party for some well-deserved rest.
There are only two people who find fault with Vajpayee's Kargil strategy -- one is Pakistan and the other is the Congress,'' Advani said.
``Yes, it was the soldiers who won the war. No one can take away that credit fromthem. But what about the diplomatic victory? he asked.
``It is not that this is our first victory against Pakistan. But what sets Kargil apart from the previous wars is that we have not hastened to go in for a `settlement/agreement'. And we'll not do it, Advani said blaming Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for undoing the good done by the Army by entering into meaningless post-war pacts.
Projecting Vajapyee as the man who will lead the country into the 21st century, Advani said he had proved that he (Vajpayee) was capable of bringing prosperity in peacetime and victories in wars to the nation.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.