Blast-shaken Cong woos Muslims

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's humiliation at Malegaon, where the compensation offered by her to one of the victim families was rejected, has sparked off furious activity within the party and the government on winning back the support of the minorities.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), at a meeting on Sunday, briefly discussed the Malegaon blasts and observed a minute's silence in the memory of the victims.

But the party knows that such gestures are unlikely to go far when it comes to the way Muslims vote in the forthcoming elections, especially in Uttar Pradesh. Hence, a concerted exercise to woo Muslims has been kicked off.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the chief ministers of all states and union territories to set targets for projects for the benefit of minorities under a new central 15-point programme.

In a letter to the chief ministers yesterday, Singh asked them to put in place a mechanism to monitor the implementation of these programmes, so that they received "due attention at the highest level."

The prime minister said the implementation of the schemes would be monitored by a committee of secretaries at the Centre, which would submit a report to the Cabinet.

The government finalised a new programme as the benefits of earlier such programmes had not percolated down to the intended beneficiaries.

"The importance of maintaining communal peace and harmony and provision of a fair share in central and state government employment, including public sector undertakings, to the minorities remains undiluted. These continue to be fundamental constituents of the revised programme," he said.

Singh had also referred to programmes for the benefit of minorities in his August 15 speech this year. So far, only the Andhra Pradesh government has taken concrete action on reservations for minorities.

In his letter, Singh recalled that the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, had announced a 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities in 1983.

The programme, he said, was designed to counter communal disharmony and violence, ensure representation to minorities in the government, and provide them a fair share in programmes for economic empowerment.

The prime minister said a large number of developmental schemes had been introduced over the years to address specific problems relating to education, health, employment, and shelter for the poor and the underprivileged. These programmes have defined target groups.