By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Mumbai: The Maharashtra unit of the Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ) has urged the state government to make budgetary allocations for the development and welfare of minorities.
MPJ delegates and MLAs with the Finance minister, (photo from left Siraj ahmed, secretary, MPJ maharashtra, Fauzia khan, MLC, Nawab Malik, MLA, Jayant Patil, FM, Maharashtra, Chagan Bhujbal)
In a letter to state Finance Minister Jayant Patil on 22nd February, MPJ made several demands regarding uplift of the minorities. The state government should identify five more districts as Minority Concentrated Districts (MCD) apart from the four districts already identified by the Central government for targeted intervention, MPJ said. The organization also asked the government to facilitate quick granting of OBC/SC/ST status to various backward castes found in the Muslim society.
On educational front, MPJ demanded the government to include madrasas in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for minorities and to open Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in all districts.
On economic front, the organization urged the government to allocate Rs.500 crore to Maulana Azad Minorities Financial Development Corporation Ltd. All state banks should provide loan to minorities in proportion to their population. Besides, the government should form a State Wakf Development Council with a substantial corpus, the organization demanded.