Congress' secular image affected: Khan

Indore, Jan 8: Congress leader and former Union minister AslamSher Khan feels that the party's secular image has been affected due tothe declining influence of leaders who support secularism.

''That is why even Congress supporters are distancing themselvesfrom the party. Seculariam constituted the Congress' identity. Theparty lost Madhya Pradesh's December 2003 assembly poll as a result ofthe then chief minister Digvijay Singh's tenure. The workers' woes wentunheard,'' the former Olympian told reporters here yesterday.

Pointing out that conventions were being held at division-levelfor establishing a dialogue with workers, Khan added that such eventsalready took place here and at Bhopal. A state-level convention wouldbe organised at the state capital.

''Reservation on religious basis is against the spirit of theConstitution. Muslims' problems cannot be solved through reservation.Comprehensive methods are imperative for their uplift,'' he felt.

On different factions projecting Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia andMLA Ajay Singh as claimants for the chief minister's post, Khan saidthat once the Bharatiya Janata Party was vanquished he saw nothingwrong in any Congress leader emerging for the coveted post.

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