Sonia alleges discrimination in relief

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, DEC. 16. The Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, today accused the Union Government of discriminating against the Congress-ruled States in providing relief assistance.

She alleged that under the present dispensation at the Centre, the farmers and farm labourers were the worst-hit. The Congress would agitate to protect the farm sector from the ``grave crisis''.

Addressing a meeting of the party's elected representatives to panchayats and municipalities from Rajasthan, Ms. Gandhi said that despite the seriousness of the drought conditions prevailing in the State, the Centre was not forthcoming with assistance. ``Rather than providing support to the fund-starving State, the Centre is making a political campaign''. This was against ``insaniat'' (humanity), she charged.

The panchayat raj meeting was well attended, but the seamier side of the Congress politics came out in the open during the occasion with the partymen shouting down the Panchayati Raj Minister, Dr. C.P. Joshi from speaking.

Besides the Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, and the PCC(I) president, Ms. Girija Vyas, the meeting was attended by the senior leaders of the party, Ms. Prabha Rao, Mr. Natwar Singh, Mr. Balram Jakhar, Mr.Sis Ram Ola, Mr. Buta Sigh. A resolution was adopted on the occasion protesting against the discriminatory attitude of the Centre towards Rajasthan as well as its communal and anti-farmer policies.

Farmers' woes

Expressing her concern over the conditions on the farm front, Ms. Gandhi said that in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, farmers were not able to sell grain stocks. In Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, they were affected by drought. In Bihar it was the devastating floods and in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, it was unremunerative prices for commodities like natural rubber.

``The Centre is not extending any support to farmers. It has no sympathy for their plight,'' she charged. In Uttar Pradesh, the sugar mills were facing closure. The farmers were not getting their payments from those mills. In Andhra Pradesh, the farmers were committing suicide. The condition of the farmers had made the party to move an adjournment motion on the issue in Lok Sabha, Ms. Gandhi said. Ms. Gandhi urged the Government to take the support of the workers in carrying out drought relief work. She appealed to the NGOs and individuals to help in drought relief.

Ms. Gandhi said that the party had done well in the civic elections in Rajasthan, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat. In Uttar Pradesh also the party improved its position. ``We are keeping up the momentum''.

`Promote national unity'

Our Jaipur Staff Correspondent writes:

Ms. Gandhi emphasised the need for promoting national unity in the face of attempts by divisive forces to create differences in the society by setting one group against an other. ``We cannot flourish or aspire for an honourable position in the comity of nations with a fragmented society,'' she said inaugurating the fifth national convention of the Sindhi Council of India here.

Ms. Gandhi said that the number of unemployed, destitute and deprived people in the country was on the rise because of the BJP-led Government's policies. ``This situation calls for a drastic action to render help to the poor and downtrodden,'' she said.

This, in fact, was the ideal which the great national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress had always espoused.

Acclaiming the role of the Sindhi community, the Congress chief said the Sindhi people had achieved a distinct identity for themselves by their hard work, dedication and determination. The Sindhis had suffered a lot during Partition but they started afresh by doing menial jobs after migrating to India.

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