'Communal budgeting':Don't get intimidated by BJP, Left to UPA

New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) The Left parties today asked the UPA government not to get intimidated by the BJP's claim on the definition of ' minorities' and the charge of communal budgeting.

They urged the Centre to go ahead with fully implementation of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee Report and not bow down to the saffron party's propaganda and its attempts to polarise the people on communal lines for political benefits.

They also challenged the saffron party to show the statistics and data to prove that the NDA-ruled states had better track record on development in comparison to the UPA-ruled states.

Talking to UNI, the Left leaders- Mohammad Salim, D Raja and G Devrajan- said the government of the day is bound to address the concerns and that the budget is one way of addressing those.

The remarks came a day after the BJP top leadership at their National Council meeting here attacked the Centre and asked it to define term' minorities' and its plans on ' communal budgeting.' The saffron party leaders charged the UPA with promoting religious conversions by its plans to give more allocations to minority dominated districts.

Mr Salim, the CPI(M) Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, said the BJP is known for its communal politics. "They are more than eager to communalise every aspect of politics, culture, economy, education and governance." The CPI(M) leader, who is the head of the party Minorities Cell, said after ''the submission of the Sachar Committee's report it is incumbent on the part of the government to allocate enough resources for the socio-economic upliftment of the minorities, but the government is lagging far behind on this front." The Common Minimum Programme( CMP), on the basis of which the UPA government was formed, itself mandated the government to take affirmative action for the development of the minorities, he said.

Mr Raja, the CPI National Secretary, said the Budget is budget.

"Budget should always take care of weaker sections. The Sachar Committee leaves no one in doubt that the minorities remain very backward. But the saffron party sees every thing through the communal prism." The CPI leader said now again they are trying to bring back communal politics on the national political scenario with an eye on the forthcoming assembly polls and the general elections early next year.

On Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's claim that the NDA-ruled states had performed better than the UPA-ruled ones in all respects, Mr Raja challenged him to present the statistics and the data, if any.

"Can Mr Modi provide facts and figures pertaining to the condition of the minorities, the SC and STs, womenfolk and other weaker sections of society?'' he wanted to know.

Mr Salim said the BJP's politics is based on the "appeasement of minorities" theory which stood blasted by the Sachar Committee.

The successive union governments had, of course, failed to ameliorate the sufferings of the weaker sections.

"We hope that the Manmohan Singh government will not bow down to the kind of communal propaganda by the BJP and rather it will be bold enough in coming out with affirmative action," the CPI(M) leader said.

Forward Bloc National Secretary G Devrajan said the Left had always stood for all round development of all the sections of the population. ''The government must do more for those who need the most.'' UNI KSA RP HS1629