Congress turns 127 sans celebrations

The Congress has decided to avoid any celebration to mark the party's 127th anniversary on Friday in order to express it solidarity towards the Delhi gangrape victim.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi visited the Congress headquarters here on the occasion.

Both Singh and Gandhi assured that the government was committed to punish the accused.

"You have my assurance that our government is committed to bringing the guilty to justice as soon as possible," Singh said.

Gandhi said the party will not celebrate its 127th anniversary.

"There will be no celebrations on Congress formation day for us. Our thoughts are with the young woman who is fighting for her life," Gandhi told media.

Gandhi, who hoisted the party flag at the Congress headquarters on Friday, said: "Our wish is that she recovers and comes back to us and no time is lost in bringing the accused to justice for their horrendous act."

Pertinently, Gandhi on Friday spoke out for the first time on the gangrape and brutalization of the Delhi girl fighting for her life in Singapore´s Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

The hospital, meanwhile, said the the condition of the victim is extremely critical.

The 23-year-old medical student who was raped and brutalised by six men on a moving bus in Delhi on Dec 16, was shifted to the Singapore hospital which specializes in multi-organ transplant procedures.

Large parts of the victim´s intestines were removed as a result of the injuries she suffered from the attack.

The victim has already undergone three surgeries and a cardiac arrest earlier.