By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Patna: Deputy Leader of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar Assembly, Shakeel Ahmad Khan, alleged that Nitish Kumar-led JD (U)-BJP government was implementing the ‘RSS agenda’ in the state by not allowing welfare schemes for the minorities to take off.
Addressing a press conference on 22nd April in the state capital, he said Nitish Kumar was trying to weaken minorities by dividing them. He demanded the state government to take immediate steps to ensure that the central government schemes recommended by the Sachar Committee be implemented in the state.
Khan criticized the state government for lapse of central funds meant for scholarships for minority students. Under the Post-Matriculation Scholarship scheme, meant for minorities, around 5,500 students were to be given about Rs10,000 each but the state government failed to forward the application forms to the centre in time. This led to the lapse of the fund.
He blamed the government for non-implementation of another central government scheme for minority students. The scheme was related to coaching of students of minority community for entrance in technical and professional courses in different institutes of the country. The centre was ready to spend Rs 15,000-20,000 per student under this scheme. The amount was to be paid to coaching institutes directly. Around 36 coaching institutes in the state had applied for the scheme. The state government was to send a credibility report about the coaching institutes to the central government but it has failed to do so and the minority students cannot get benefit of this scheme, the RJD leader said.