REG: Sonia calls Cong district presidents146; meeting

Peeved with the non-Congress state governments walking away with the credit for its flagship Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that she would convene a meeting of party presidents of 200 districts where the scheme has begun.

Addressing a meeting of the Congress parliamentary party, Sonia asked her MPs to 8216;8216;be active in countering the misleading propaganda8217;8217;. 8216;8216;The scheme is being propogated as an initiative of state governments whereas the fact is that 90 per cent of the funding is coming from the UPA government at the Centre.8217;8217;

Informing the MPs that the Prime Minister is looking into the matter, Sonia said that district presidents of 200 districts would be called to devise strategies to counter the move. Reports from Chhattisgarh, UP, Bihar and Rajasthan suggested that the state governments are issuing advertisements claiming credit for the scheme.

On the controversy over Prophet cartoons, Sonia Gandhi said that the party 8216;8216;condemns the denigration of any faith8217;8217;. 8216;8216;I want to share my anguish over the matter.8217;8217;