Nuclear deal to benefit India in long run: Sonia

India, which went ahead with signing of the Indo-US nuclear agreement despite opposition from "certain quarters", will reap the benefit in the long run, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said today.
    
"Despite opposition from certain quarters, we went ahead with the civil nuclear deal. The deal is in the interest of the country," Gandhi told a rally here.

She said the country will reap the benefit of the deal in future, as it will help meet the power requirement and boost
electricity generation.
    
Criticising those, who had mocked her late husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as a "computer boy" for his
vision on IT industry development, she said, "They had made fun of Rajiv Gandhi for his IT vision. Today, the country is
reaping the benefits of his vision. His vision brought the country into the IT and telecom age."
    
She said the Congress was determined to continue the good work.
    
Delivering a slew of promises on development in the region, Gandhi said the country needs a government that is strong and stable and will protect and promote secular values and communal harmony and effectively combat terrorism.
    
"Only Congress can give such a government," she claimed.

Referring to the fund allotted for projects taken up by the Congress-led government like the IIM, NIFT and North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Shillong, the Chairperson of the coalition said the UPA government had given high priority to development in the Northeast.
    
She called upon the electorate to reject smaller parties, groups and individuals, who have been shifting loyalty with "narrow and divisive agenda with no regard for national interest and no vision for the future".