Sunday, January 8 2006 11:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhopal: Claiming that minorities are getting attracted in a big way towards Congress, its senior leader and Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh said a new direction would be given at the coming plenary session in Hyderabad to strengthen the party and turn 'infighting' in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to its advantage.

"The three-day Hyderabad plenary session of Congress from January 21 will be decisive and significant as a new direction will be set to strengthen the organisation," Singh told sources in an interview during his visit here.

Calling Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as among the weak spots of Congress, he said strategies to rejuvenate the party would be worked out after the plenary session. "Let us wait till the plenary session. Let the session be over".

Denying there was any erosion in Congress support base among minorities, the party stalwart said, "I don't think it is true (Congress losing support among minorities). It may be the view of some people. Infact, more and more minorities are now coming to the Congress fold".

Presenting a bleak future for BJP, Singh claimed the saffron party has "lost its credibility. It has lost its integrity to convince people" and said Congress can certainly take advantage of BJP's inherent weaknesses.

On BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh getting three chief ministers in two years, he said, "it is one of the symptoms of their inner contradictions and infighting. We should not be surprised if they effect change of guard in future".

Congress, on its part, is upbeat with the success in many areas of party-led UPA rule at the Centre, which has effectively eliminated communal violence in the country to a large extent, Singh said.

One of the major achievements of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is "putting the country on a normal key and eliminating communal violence to a large extent", though the menace is yet to be wiped out totally, he said.

On the UPA government's performance, the Union minister said under the circumstance in which it is functioning, the government has fulfilled a large number of promises incorporated in the charter of Common Minimum Programme.

Concrete initiatives have been taken for implementation of most of the major programmes related to areas including employment, agriculture and education as well as for industrialisation in an effective manner, he said.

Denying that the UPA was working under the pressure from partners like Left parties, Singh said, "Left parties are our valuable allies. They are supporting our government. To the extent possible, we are trying to address their concerns though it is not possible that everything said by somebody has to be done".

On groupism in Congress in states like Madhya Pradesh, he said such things keep taking place in political parties but once the leadership takes a decision, all fall in line.