Must stop Modi: Cong eyes massive minority development

New Delhi, June 13: The

has started to believe that the rise of BJP's

will polarise votes in the next Lok Sabha polls on religious lines. As a counter-move to prevent any major affect of this, the party has focused to protect its

vote-bank from regional players like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee.

According to a report published in Anandabazaar Patrika, the UPA government has decided to sanction whopping amounts for the welfare of the minority groups across the nation. It has been reported that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have advised the government to initiate such a programme. It has been decided that the Centre will spend Rs 1,250 crore in the next nine months for the development of 710 minority blocks and social infrastructure in 66 cities in the next nine months, the report said.

The implementation will be done by the minority welfare ministry while the prime minister's office will keep a watch on the implementation. Even representatives from the minority community will be appointed to oversee that the work is being done properly at the block level.

The Congress is desperate to consolidate its Muslim votes across the nation for it thinks it is the only way out to tackle Modi. The party fears that too many parties appeasing the minorities and it could lead to a division of the vote-bank further.

The report has cited Congress leaders giving the example of Uttar Pradesh. The party had won 21 seats in the most crucial state in the last parliamentary elections and it must repeat the show if it harbours any hope to come back to power for the third consecutive time.

The party has decided to make the blocks the basis of the minority welfare instead of the districts and has widened the reach of the development from 90 to 196 districts of the country.

The development scheme includes school rooms, health centres, anganwadi centres, housing and educational institutes. The PMO has ordered fast completion of the projects even though the sanctioned funds are scheduled to be spent by the end of this fiscal, considering that the Lok Sabha elections can he held earlier as well.

The ball is now in the court of the 'secular' forces but they are ready to indulge in scoring a soft-communal point to stop the 'communal' forces.

OneIndia News