The visiting 'Group of Ministers
(GoM) on Media' on Wednesday refuted Chief Minister Narendra Modi's
oft-repeated allegation that the Centre was discriminating against his
government on the matter of allocation of funds.
The GoM comprised Union Home Minister
P Chidambaram, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni
and Law Minister Salman Khurshid.
Replying to questions, Chidambaram
said there was no question of any discrimination against the Gujarat
government and figures themselves rejected Modi's contentions. He said
the central funding for Gujarat had increased from Rs 21,700 crore in
2005-2006 to Rs 51,000 crore in 2012-13.
He, however, said the larger contribution
for the state's development came from its own resources.
The Home Minister said Modi was
not the only CM of a non-Congress ruled state making such allegations.
He pointed out that during the NDA rule, non-NDA governments in the
states had made similar complaints. “The UPA government is for development
of the entire India,” he said.
In response to Modi's claims that
Gujarat was the fastest growing state in the country, Chidambaram said
development was taking place in Gujarat as in any other state. “All
the states are growing and the Centre has contributed for the development
of all the states,” he said.
Countering Modi government's 'Vibrant
Gujarat' campaign, Soni said that malnutrition among women and children
was higher in Gujarat compared to the national average. “While the
malnutrition among women in India is 51 per cent, it is 55 per cent
in Gujarat,” she said.
“The state economy could be termed
as vibrant when women and children of the state are able to stand on
their own,” Soni added.
On the issue of alleged discrimination
against IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, Chidambaram said that IPS officers
were allocated separate cadres and the state government should deal
fairly with them. “The central government cannot intervene on its
own unless the IPS officer approaches the government for redressal of
grievances,” he said.
He pointed out that some IPS officers,
including from Gujarat, had approached the Centre in the past, following
which the government intervened in their cases.
On the condition of Muslims, Khurshid
said there was nothing to indicate that they were living in a better
condition in Gujarat in comparison to other states.
He said that Gujarat was the only
state in the country which had not implemented pre-matric scholarship
for minorities. He, however, admitted that Gujarat had implemented the
post-matric scholarship scheme for minority students.
