By Abdul Bari Masoud
TIA
NEW DELHI: West Bengal Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Minister Dr Abdus Sattar has alleged that the UPA government is not sincere with regard to minority welfare.
He said that Union Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid did not convene even a single meeting of state minority affairs ministers for consultation and effective implementation of the central schemes meant for minorities.
Speaking at a national convention for Muslims rights here on Saturday, Dr Sattar said for better implementation of the central minority-welfare schemes, Mr .Khurshid should have convened at least one meeting of state ministers as happened earlier.
The convention also called upon the UPA government not to delay the implementation of the Ranganathan Mishra Commission report. The report recommends 10 per cent reservation for backward Muslims.
Several speakers belonging to left and secular parties took the government to task for failing to implement the Sachar and Mishra commissions’ recommendations. CPM MP Mohammad Salim accused the UPA of adopting dilly dallying tactics in implementation of Mishra report. He said the Left Front had asked the UPA government when it was supporting the ruling alliance in the first term; to take concrete measures for removing the backwardness of the Muslim community instead it had set up two commissions.
“Four years have gone since the both commissions’ reports were tabled in the parliament but not a single step has been taken in this direction that exposes government’s intention” Salim said.
Dr Sattar said West Bengal was ahead in minority development as it was the first state which announced 10 per cent reservations for the backward Muslims in accordance with the Mishra recommendations.
Supporting the reservation demand, former member of the Backward Classes Commission P Krishnan called upon the ‘upper-caste’ Muslims to make sacrifice for their backward brethren. He said he knew that Islam’s equality law is supreme but the society should not be linked with the religion.
The convention also demanded amendment in the Constitution for paving the way for extending reservation benefits to Muslim community as the Supreme Court has put cap on reservation quota upto 50 per cent.
Besides Left leaders, RJD and JD(U) and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha K Rehman Khan also addressed the convention. It was organized by the Left-linked organizations such as Democratic Forum for National Integration (Kolkatta), Muslim Intelligentsia (Delhi) and Awaaz (Hyderabad). However, some members in the audience said it was an attempt by the Left Front to salvage its image in the eyes of the Muslims Community as the West Bengal assembly election is round the corner where Left Front has suffered major set back in the last Lok Sabha and local bodies elections.