Urdu as second language, Mulayam not serious: Cong

Varanasi, Apr 25 (UNI) In an apparent bid to garner the minority votes, the Congress today charged the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government with neglecting Urdu as second language in Uttar Pradesh.

''Whatever work has been done for promotion of Urdu by the state government remains confined to paper only. In practice, Urdu is hardly recognised or used as second language in any of the state government offices or establishments,'' Union Minister for Water Resources and senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz told newspersons here.

On the contrary an important cabinet minister of UP government is determined to establish the Maulana Ali Jauhar Urdu University at Rampur in the private sector, Mr Soz said without naming UP urban development minister Mohd Azam Khan.

''Such a varsity will serve no purpose for the minority community,'' Mr Soz claimed.

The former National Conference leader said the commitment of the Mulayam government towards minority education is exposed by the fact it has not used for the last two and half years, facilities provided for promotion of minority education by the National Minority Educational Commission.

Mr Soz, predicting a steady progress in both number of seats and percentage of votes for the Congress during this poll over the 2002 assembly election, said the party will play a major role in the formation of a secular coalition government in UP.

''If the steady rise in Congress graph continues over the remaining three phases of the assembly poll, Congress may be in a position to even lead the secular coalition government,'' Mr Soz said.

The Union Minister, however, clarified that Congress will respect the spirit of public mandate before making any attempts to forge post-poll secular tie-ups.

Similar views were expressed by union minister of state for road transport and highways K H Muniyappa, who said in the event of a hung assembly, which seems most likely in UP, the Congress will play a vital role in forming the next government.

UNI