Congress can form govt on its own : Antony

Seeking to dismiss possibility of a hung Assembly in Karnataka, Defence Minister and senior Congress leader A K Antony on Wednesday said his party could form the government on its own strength after the May 5 elections.

Releasing party's manifesto for the state elections here, the minister, who heads the Congress coordination committee for the poll said its national leaders in Delhi are closely following the trend in the State. "My feedback is we can form a stable, our own government in Karnataka," Antony said.

The Congress has promised interest-free loans to farmers, free laptops to pre-university students and rice at Re 1 per kg to BPL card holders if it came to power in Karnataka

The minister's comment came amidst intense debate among political analysts on the prospects of his party at the hustings-- whether it would be able to get the numbers on its own or will it have to depend on others to form a government.

Meanwhile, Antony also said the main thrust of the manifesto is to "bring back the glory" of Karnataka. He said farsighted policies of various Congress governments in the past had led to Karnataka becoming a model state for others in terms of development and progressive policies.

"But unfortunately in the last few years, because of the change of guard from Congress to other parties-- BJP and JDS -- progress has died down, (and) ultimately stagnant (growth)," he said.

When Congress returns to power after May 5 Assembly polls, it would provide clean, corruption-free and development oriented administration, focus on inclusive growth, would not tolerate corruption from any quarter-- party and government, take stringent action against corrupt elements and strive for speedy economic and social development, Antony said. "This election is very, very crucial for the entire state, people of Karnataka and future of Karnataka", he said, adding "it's an opportunity for us to save Karnataka, regain glory of Karnataka."

Antony also said party president Sonia Gandhi had stated that a high-power committee would be constituted to implement the promises made in the manifesto in a time-bound manner.