rime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks, made at a National Development Council meeting caused quite a stir. Dr Singh said that 'plans for minorities, particularly Muslims, must have the first claim on resources'.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the statement, saying it had 'communal overtones' and demanded that Dr Singh apologise.
The PMO clarified that Dr Singh's reference to the first claim on resources referred to all the priority areas, including programmes for the upliftment of SCs, STs, OBCs, women and children and minorities. It said that sections of the electronic media had represented the statement wrongly.
Apart from the Congress party, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also defended the prime minister. Dr Ahluwalia said that Dr Singh's remarks had been taken out of context and that they have to be viewed in the context of the Sachar Committee's findings which have brought out how minorities, especially Muslims, have lost out in the development process.
The Congress maintained that the prime minister would not apologise.
Photographs: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images
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