Author: Political Bureau
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: May 19, 2007
Introduction: Party Says Move To Identify
Minority-Dominated Districts Will Divide Country's Populace
The BJP on Friday came down heavily on the
Manmohan Singh government for its decision to take steps towards execution
of certain Sachar committee recommendations, claiming that the move was fraught
with dangerous implications for the country's unity and integrity. The recommendations
include identification of minority-dominated districts.
A day after the Union Cabinet gave the green
signal to set up four committees to examine the proposals regarding an equal
opportunity commission, a national data bank, educational and skill development
of the community and identification of minority-dominated districts, the BJP
saw the move as yet another manifestation of the politics of "minority
appeasement".
"The decision of the UPA to identify
90 Muslim majority districts across the country is an unfortunate development,"
pointed out BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar. "Our party is always for
pro-active affirmative development action for all deprived regions, classes
and communities. But dividing the country geographically into majority and
minority concentrated districts is a dangerous proposal, fraught with disastrous
consequences for the country's unity and integrity. How can the nation forget
that the country was divided precisely on this basis 60 years ago?" he
argued.
In the saffron party's assessment, the Congress'
debacle in the just concluded assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and its failure
to lure the Muslims back had goaded its leadership into thinking of more ways
to mollify them. The decision by the members of the community to stay away
from the Congress in UP had only hardened this thinking.
At a conference on minorities and Dalits here
on Thursday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi promised to ensure the implementation
of the Sachar committee recommendations. "Appropriate action is at hand
on the recommendation of the Sachar Committee," she told the conclave,
adding that the UPA government was committed to uplifting both the religious
as well as linguistic minorities. "Empowerment of weaker sections of
our society is vital," the Congress chief said.
The BJP clearly disagrees with this line of
thinking. "The government can ensure special need-based development packages
for any deprived section, but cannot play with the basic concepts of unity
and secularism," Mr Javadekar said. "The idea behind the establishment
of the Sachar panel was only to study the conditions of one community - a
reprehensible plan, which had been opposed by our party as we feared that
the findings of any such study would further divide the country along communal
lines."
Espousing the BJP's viewpoint on the issue,
Mr Javadekar said that the government should have adopted a holistic approach
to examine the plight of all disadvantaged sections, regardless of religion
or caste. "The districts which lag behind on the developmental index
are already categorised as backward districts. Dividing the geography of the
nation on the basis of religion is unwarranted and dangerous," the BJP
spokesman said.
