06-26-2006, 07:31 AM
Rajnath Singh criticises UPA's `minority appeasement' policy
Staff Reporter
Criticises decision to allocate 15 per cent of welfare scheme funds for minorities
# BJP demands `White Paper' on the country's economy
# 'Some influential persons are involved in the War Room leak case'
BANGALORE: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh has come down heavily on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, for depending on "minority appeasement" to retain its shrinking vote bank.
He criticised the recent Cabinet decision to allocate 15 per cent of funds under development and welfare schemes, exclusively for minorities.
He was talking to presspersons after a meeting of the BJP SC Morcha executive committee here on Sunday.
Mr. Singh said that his party had never felt the need to resort to appeasement of the minorities. When the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was in power, it had achieved the unique distinction of passing three constitutional amendments for the development and welfare of Scheduled Castes, he said.
The Cabinet decision on June 22 had added a new feature to the Prime Minister's 15-point programme for minority welfare, which was formulated in 1983. It followed proposals outlined earlier by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The revised programme was aimed at preventing communal riots, prosecuting people for communal offences and rehabilitating victims of communal violence. It would cover minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Buddhists.
Mr. Singh said the move to make separate allocation for minority welfare was "dangerously divisive" and the UPA was giving a new definition to secularism.
"The BJP will abolish it the moment it returns to power," he said.
Mr. Singh said the UPA had failed on all counts, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seemed to be pulled in different directions by the Congress and the allies.
The price of essential commodities had shot up. The Prime Minister should immediately convene an all-party meeting to discuss the state of the national economy and come out with a "White Paper."
The country enjoyed food surplus during the NDA regime, but now there was food insecurity and the Government was getting ready to import wheat, he said.
Mr. Singh wondered why the UPA Government had dithered on testing Agni III for the past two years, causing concern over the Government's commitment to the nation's security."We are behind Pakistan in testing and deployment of intermediate missiles, and since we are not part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, why should we be shy of testing our indigenous missiles?" he asked, adding that Pakistan had already deployed over 100 Chinese warheads.
Mr. Singh said it was intriguing that the accused in the War Room leak case were being investigated four months after the First Information Report was filed.
"This seems to indicate that some powerful and influential persons are involved and they are being shielded," he said.
He demanded an all-party meeting to discuss which agen