Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee meet
In a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today accused him of "
hawaa baazi (talking in the air)" and said he had failed abysmally to "match media events with actual accomplishments."
"It has become painfully clear that most of the pledges made by the Prime Minister during his election campaign were nothing more than hawaa baazi," Mrs Gandhi said, addressing top party leaders at the Congress Working Committee.
"The Modi Government has failed abysmally to match words with deeds, to match media events with actual accomplishments. The economy is on a downward slide while prices continue on their unrelenting rise," Mrs Gandhi charged.
The PM, she added, had been reduced to "unedifying flip flops" which created confusion on what he really stood for. "The security situation in our neighbourhood has deteriorated considerably," she said, adding, "Instead of a coherent policy on Pakistan, this government can't seem to make up its mind on what it should do."
She also accused the government of targeting Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress' tallest leader and the country's first prime minister. "History is sought to be rewritten with special targeting of Jawaharlal Nehru," she said.
Sonia Gandhi's term as party president was extended by another year through a resolution adopted by the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest policy making body.
It had earlier been speculated that Rahul Gandhi would take over the top job, but sources say the 45-year-old is devoting his attention to revitalising the party after its big crash in last year's national election.
Mrs Gandhi, 68 has been top boss since 1998 - she is now the longest serving chief of the party; elections for the party's main posts have to be held by the end of December, a requirement of the Election Commission, but the party has asked to continue with the current panel for another year.