By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
Welfare of minorities, especially Muslims, is top priority for the Union Government, said Salman Khurshid, Union Minister for Minority Affairs. He said that the Prime Minister has instructed him to take up programmes directly and through various economic ministries for the speedy development of minorities. Muslims who have been left out of the mainstream educational and economic activities in the last 62 years will be given high priority, he added. Mr. Khurshid was speaking at the felicitation function organized by the CMEII for Muslim ministers and newly-elected MPs at New Delhi on Tuesday.
He opined that on raising the demand for reservation, it should be clear on what basis and under which provisions the same can be done. Article 341 has its social and historical dimensions. Even though Muslims are included in the OBC, they have not been able to access the opportunities provided by it. Keen on the speedy development of Muslims, the Prime Minister is ready to allocate adequate resources for the same. And now it is up to Muslims to effectively translate the good intentions of the government into some concrete schemes, he added.
Muslims need a national leader from the community, under whose leadership they could move forward in the struggle for progress, said Sultan Ahmed, Union Minister of State for Tourism. Work in the rural areas is the need of the time. Muslims should concentrate on education as it holds the key to development. He added that the Mishra Commission Report should be tabled in the Parliament.
The development agenda for Muslims should be collectively pursued, said Dr. Faruq Abdullah, Union Cabinet Minister for New and Renewable Energy. He suggested the formation of a monitoring mechanism for proper working as well as correcting when Muslims go wrong. Muslims have been continuously talking about increasing their representation in the Government, but in effect this is on constant decline, and the figure of 31 out of 543 MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha bears testimony to it, he added.
Muslim representatives in the Government should not shy away of their Muslim identity but rather talk and work well, said K. Rehman Khan, Honourable Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in his presidential address. It is not the failure of the Government to approach the difficulties faced by Muslims but rather, Muslims fail in clearly working out their agenda, in putting up demands collectively and pursuing persistently to get them done. Muslims need to understand their priorities – education, reservation and empowerment, he added.
Muslims need to access quality education for a role, place and growth in the mainstream society, said M.J. Khan, President, National Economic Forum for Muslims, while giving out the background presentation. He spelt out a six-point demand for the consideration of the government: 1.Government support in education, development of skills, equal opportunities and fair share in national resources; 2.Muslims should be provided reservation, the Mishra Commission Report should be tabled; 3. Equal Opportunity Commission should be set up; 4. The reports of all Committees and Commissions should be tabled and ATR (Action Taken Report) be presented within three months; 5. Respect sensitive matters/issues related to Muslims; 6. Audit Ministries and States on “Minorities Confidence Level” and release annual survey report.
Based on these, he put forward four specific demands:
1. The discrimination meted out to Muslims under Article 341, through the Presidential Order, 1950, must be revoked and Muslim SC/ST castes must be entitled to the same benefits, as other SC/ST.
2. Muslims need the instrument of reservation. The OBC quota may be trifurcated among Advanced OBCs, MBCs and Muslims for a just and fair share to all the three sub-groups.
3. Muslims should be allowed 15% share in all educational institutions, Government or private, and in all Government and PSU schemes, allocations, dealerships etc., as suggested by the Mishra Commission. A Monitoring Officer should be appointed in each Ministry for the purpose.
4. The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment should launch a major program up to block level with allocations of Rs. 3500 crores annually to support in the up-gradation and certification of skills.
Parliamentarians Zafar Ali Naqwi, Maulana Qasmi, Shariq, B. Ajmal and Kadir Rana also shared their thoughts.
Asad Owaisi, A. Rashid, Ahmed Saeed, Azeez Pasha, Dr. Ejaz Ali, M. Adeeb and D. Raja were some of the other Parliamentarians who attended the function. Besides, Shafi Quraishi, Chairman, NCM, and P.A. Inamdar, Chairman, Azam University, were also present.
The programme was conducted by Mr. Kamal Farqui.