Development, responsive govt key to harmony: Raman Singh

Social and economic backwardness major reasons for ethnic conflicts

Citing his pro-people initiatives, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said development and responsive government can act as solution to any problem and bring peace and prosperity in the country.

Harmony can be achieved only if there is a responsive and sensitive administration to ensure that there is equal opportunity to all with no discrimination, he said during the meeting of National Integration Council (NIC) called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kawar read the speech on behalf of the chief minister.

Singh said social and economic backwardness were the major reasons for ethnic conflicts and so it is necessary to eradicate economic and social differences among all sections of the society and the regional imbalance in areas.

He said the Chhattisgarh government has tried to bridge the regional gap through various public welfare schemes. Chhattisgarh is free from hunger and is now heading towards being a malnutrition-free state.

Stressing on the need of organising such meeting annually, Singh said the NIC meeting has been called after a gap of two years.

He said that there is no fear of communal violence in Chhattisgarh as the government has implemented various schemes for all religion such as 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojna', developed the religious places of all the religion, adopted policies to provide equal facilities to all constitutional institutions like State Minority Commission, State Wakf Board and State Haj Committee etc.