Narendra Modi, Raman Singh to skip integration council meet today

, Sept 23: BJP's chief ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister

is set to skip the National Integration Council (NIC) meet called in the wake of the riots in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh that killed 48 people and left many homeless.

Sources in the Gujarat government said Modi deputed Minister of State (Home) Rajni Patel to represent him at the meeting. It was said that Modi could not be present owing to prior engagements.

Another BJP Chief Minister Raman Singh has also decided against attending the meet. Other chief ministers are expected to attend the meet.

The meeting will also take up the issue of pre-poll polarisation

The meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will see threadbare discussion on the rising communal tension across the country. The possibilities of sharp polarisation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year will also be talked about.

It was learnt that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reached the capital on Sunday night itself to pay tributes to deceased Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh, who passed away at the AIIMS on Sunday for he will not be present in Lucknow on Monday owing to the meeting. The opposition strongly criticised the Akhilesh government, accusing it of failing to stop the violence in his state.

OneIndia News