At the much-publicised meeting on the minority welfare, held at Lalitha Kala Thoranam, there was no crowd.
The minorities in the state appear to be distancing themselves from the Congress.
If the response to the meeting organised by Congress leaders on Sunday is any indication, then the ruling party is losing its base in Andhra Pradesh. The much-publicised meeting titled "Achievements of UPA Government and The Future of Minorities" held at Lalitha Kala Thoranam here, received a shoddy response from the public. At one stage, the number of leaders sitting on the dais outnumbered the people sitting in the crowd. Except for a few seats in the VIP gallery and those occupied by media personnel, almost all the chairs were empty and staring at the organisers.
Playing safe, the Congress leaders did not organise the meeting on the party's banner. Instead, the All India Minorities Forum (AIMF) banner was used for the meeting, although all the leaders who were invited for the meeting belonged to the Congress. Possibly because of the poor attendance, the meeting started three hours behind the scheduled time.
The organisers, in their invitation card, had printed the names of over two dozen high-profile leaders who were likely to participate in the programme. They included four Chief Ministers - N Kiran Kumar Reddy (AP), Dr. Mukul Sangma (Meghalaya), Harish Rawat (Uttarakhand) and Siddiramaiah (Karnataka) - over half a dozen Union ministers - including Oscar Fernandez, S Jaipal Reddy, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Srikanth Jena, Sarve Satyanarayana, JD Seelam, Balram Naik, Panabaka Lakshmi - and other top leaders including AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh. However, except for Union minister for Minority Affairs K Rahman Khan, no other top leader participated in the meeting. But then, over 50 Congress leaders from the state were present on the dais.
Interestingly, APCC president Botsa Satyanarayana skipped the meeting, while Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Pramod Tiwari participated in it.
Sources say that the meeting was originally planned at Nizam College Grounds. Later, the venue was shifted to L B Stadium, and finally, it was held at the Lalitha Kala Thoranam. The timing and the topic of the meeting too have puzzled some leaders. Organising a meeting on the subject of minorities' welfare looked odd to a few at a time when the state is hit by political uncertainty due to the Telangana issue. However, as the invitation card itself suggested, the meeting was conducted "under the guidance" of Union minister Rahman Khan and Digvijay Singh. (INN)