By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh virtually snubbed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi here Wednesday on the issue of favouring minorities and said the 11th Five Year Plan did not seek to divide people.
“This plan is for the poor,” the prime minister told a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) here after Modi opposed 15 percent outlays under central schemes for the minorities in the 11th plan.
“The plan does not attempt to divide people on the basis of caste, creed, gender, but there are certain social groups who are relatively badly placed on all the developmental indicators,” the prime minister remarked.
“The plan does pay special attention to the needs of these marginalized groups and targets them in a precise manner. This is, after all, the true meaning of inclusiveness,” he said.
“You will all agree that if we hope to have a prosperous, equitable, just India, then we must cover all groups and ensure that no one is left behind.”
Modi, who is looking forward to a third term as the chief minister of Gujarat, termed as “communal budgeting” the new schemes unveiled in the plan that target the minorities and said they must be reviewed to maintain the “social fabric” of the country.
“Such discrimination, amongst the eligible beneficiaries, for flow of funds based on minority status, will not help the cause of taking the people of India together on the path of development,” he said.