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Sonia promises special panel for minorities welfare

Congress president Sonia Gandhi today promised to set up a special national commission for the welfare of minorities if her party was voted to power at the Centre.

Addressing a largely-attended public meeting on City Lake's rear grounds in Jamnagar, Gandhi also promised to provide 33 per cent reservation to women not only in the elected houses but also in public services, and vowed to undertake upliftment of the people belonging to the underprivileged classes.

In her 25-minute speech, she referred to the 'attacks' on Dalits and minorities in Gujarat under the Bharatiya Janata Party regime and regretted that such incidents took place in the land of Mahatma Gandhi's birth.

She further lamented that Bapuji's principles are being 'killed' in his own state by the the 'communal forces' who rule the state.

Gandhi was accompanied by her son Rahul and Gujarat Pradesh Congress president C D Patel, besides others. It was her first election meeting in Gujarat, and she will address meetings at Patan and Godhra tomorrow.

Gandhi regretted that the BJP government could not understand the sacrifices made by her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and husband Rajiv Gandhi for the country. ''The communal forces are bent upon tearing the well-woven socio-cultural fabric of India'', she alleged.

The Congress president also referred to the prevailing water crisis in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, part of which is Jamnagar, and said the drought and drinking water problem were due to the lackadaisical attitude of the ruling BJP as it did not take any remedial measures. The last year's cyclone victims, too, had not been provided any succour, she pointed out.

Speaking about Kargil, Gandhi said the government was hiding its 'failures' under the cover of the sacrifices made by the Indian army whose hundreds of jawans had been killed in 'Operation Vijay'. She said the prime minister, home minister and the defence minister were being informed about Pakistani infiltration since September last year. But the government's failure led to the loss of soldiers' lives, she added.

The Congress president termed as 'gimmick' the prime minister's Lahore bus yatra. ''Such irresponsible lapses were never witnessed in the country during the Congress rule'', she stated.

She said if the Congress was voted to power it would remove unemployment, provide security to women and minorities, free education to girls and women and concentrate on rural development and public health, while strengthening Panchayati Raj and taking up developmental works.

The meeting began an hour behind schedule but the people waited patiently for her under the scorching sun.

UNI

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