‘Sonia, Rahul fill Rajiv vacuum’

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Lucknow, May 21: Union HRD minister Arjun Singh has said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi have filled the vacuum left behind with the death of the late Rajiv Gandhi.

Speaking at a function held at the UPCC headquarters here to mark the 17th death anniversary of late Rajiv Gandhi, Mr Arjun Singh reiterated his loyalty to the Gandhi family and said, "People like Rajiv Gandhi are rare to come by. He always placed national interest above everything else. After all, who else can make an effort to bring the killers of his mother into the national mainstream? His commitment to the welfare of the nation was total and he left behind a vacuum after his death, which has now been filled by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. It is our duty to cooperate with them in taking India to greater heights."

The minister said that the late Rajiv Gandhi had made a sincere effort to empower minorities, backward castes and women through the panchayati raj system and more than 30 lakh women were heading the panchayats in the country today. Speaking on the reservation issue, Mr Arjun Singh assured the upper castes that there would be no further cuts in their share. "The Congress has never tried to encourage war between various caste groups. The weaker sections of society have been given the benefit of reservation so that they can come up to the standards of the rest of the caste groups. We must bring the weaker sections into the social mainstream and ignore the propaganda being made by vested interests that one section will suffer due to the reservation policy.

However, the minister did not comment on the creamy layer issue, saying that the matter was subjudice.