'We assure welfare schemes for backwards'

She said that the Congress does not play partisan politics like the BJP when it comes to the needs of the people.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi gave an assurance on Monday that the UPA Government would not play partisan politics while implementing welfare programmes aimed at benefiting the backward areas.

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Outlining a string of initiatives of the Central Government covering rural and urban development and social welfare sectors, Gandhi asked the party cadre to ensure that these programmes were "not usurped or subverted by non-Congress state governments".

"For most part, these programmes, involving unprecedented and massive investments, benefit backward districts, the majority of which happen to be in non-Congress states. This means that, unlike the BJP, we do not play partisan politics when it comes to the needs of our people," she said at the 82nd plenary session.

Referring to the recent initiatives like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Bharat Nirman Programme, Urban Renewal Mission and institutional credit to farmers, the Congress Chief exhorted her partymen to make people aware of their entitlements and organise them effectively to demand and receive these entitlements.

"You must network more closely with activists and civil society organisations. The new Right to Information Act is your main weapon in this endeavour," she said.

Stating that the plenary session was as much an occasion for self-congratulation as of introspection, Gandhi said "let us renew our commitment to discharge the responsibilities in a manner that assures a life of security, prosperity and dignity to each and every Indian".