Senior Congress Leader Criticizes PM’s Church Visit Amid Rising Minority Violence
Congress leader slams PM's gesture amid rising minority attacks.
Senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to visit a church on Christmas, characterizing the move as a calculated but hollow display of inclusivity at a time when numerous incidents of targeted violence and intimidation against Christian communities continue to be reported across various parts of the country.
Addressing reporters in Pudukkottai on Friday, Chidambaram pointedly noted that the Prime Minister's appearance at a church—marking his first such visit in eleven years—coincides with a period of heightened concern over minority safety, asserting with confidence that the discerning public would readily perceive through these ostensibly symbolic gestures and recognize their underlying political motivations.
Turning attention to critical policy matters, Chidambaram flagged the recent alterations to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as an issue poised to dominate upcoming electoral discourse, directly accusing the central government of deliberately eroding the effectiveness of one of India's flagship welfare initiatives that has long served as a crucial safety net providing guaranteed employment to tens of millions of rural households.
Also Read: Congress Pays Tribute to Manmohan Singh on First Death Anniversary
He voiced vehement opposition to the policy shift that transfers 40 percent of the financial responsibility for the scheme onto state governments, cautioning that this additional burden on already fiscally strained states would inevitably result in scaled-back program implementation, narrower coverage of work areas, and a substantial reduction in the number of mandated employment days available to needy beneficiaries.
On the political front in Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram revealed that constructive discussions regarding electoral alliances with Chief Minister M K Stalin are progressing positively, with detailed negotiations over seat-sharing arrangements for forthcoming polls anticipated to commence in the immediate future.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Holds Off on Karnataka Leadership Change After Cautionary Inputs
