Centre is discriminating against Congress-ruled states, says Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Centre of discriminating against states where her party was in power and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for distributing tridents.

At a rally in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, where elections will be held later this year, she said the economic policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance did not spare even the farmers.

She accused the Centre of deliberately delaying assistance to Rajasthan, which was facing drought for the fifth consecutive year.

The Centre, she said, also failed to implement its promise of wheat allotment to Rajasthan and sanctioned a meagre amount as compared to what was demanded by the state.

Attacking the VHP, Gandhi said it was unfortunate that youths were being misled and communal tensions being fomented by divisive forces.

"Today's youth need a pen and a notebook instead of guns and women require safety," she said.

Calling upon the youth to uproot communal forces, she said it was vital to defend the integrity and unity of the country.

The Congress chief said despite a financial crunch, the state government had been able to undertake significant relief works and made strides on power, road and irrigation fronts.