Oppn leader slams Mamata for doing little for minorities

, Aug 20: Leader of Opposition in

Surjya Kanta Mishra slammed the

government on the eve of Eid for doing little for the socio-economic development of the minorities in the state. He accused the state government of terming some old projects as new and also failing to utilise funds for minority welfare. A report in Bengali daily

said this on Monday.

Saying the government was creating more noise than actual work, Mishra, a CPI(M) politburo member, said several projects which had been started during the Left Front rule were left ignored. Sources said Mishra's attack on the government was an effort to win back trust of the minorities, who have banked on Mamata Banerjee during the last few crucial polls. With another panchayat election in sight, the Left was trying to crawl back into the contest, observers felt.

The Centre has been providing funds for districts mainly inhabited by the minorities but Mishra said the former Left Front government had already made blueprints of projects for minorities following the Sachar Committee Report recommendations.

According to the newspaper report, the CPI(M) leader said till Jun 2010, the Left Front government had proposed projects worth Rs 684 crore out of the approved budget of Rs 686 crore. He said the current government has so far submitted proposals worth Rs 1.3 crore. "There is no need for propaganda for this," he said.

Mishra said out of the 900 proposed Madhyamik Siksha Kendras and Sishu Siksha Kendras, the Left had already completed 500 while the current government has not worked on any of the remaining ones.

He said the government was making tall claims on minority development, but it did not work for the uplift of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, OBCs, minorities and women.

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