By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Chennai: While welcoming the 2008-09 Union budget presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Lok Sabha on 29th February, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) has raised some questions.
In a press statement, TMMK welcomed the government’s decision to double the funds – from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore – for the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. The amount will be spent on schemes drawn in the light of the Sachar Committee recommendations. Given the backwardness of the largest minority of the country, the fund is too little, said TMMK.
The allocation of Rs 100 crore for post-matric scholarship is also not sufficient because the educational status of the Muslim community, as pointed out by the Sachar Committee, is worse than the Scheduled Castes, TMMK observed.
While the government has allocated, though less than required, funds for multi-sectoral development of 90 districts with Muslim concentration, it did not say a word about the 70% of the Muslim population that lives outside those districts. Tamil Nadu has no such district. Bihar has seven and Uttar Pradesh 14.
TMMK also expressed concern that the government kept mum about the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra. The organization is disappointed that the finance minister did not make any announcement about interest free banking. Not only Muslims but several multinational banks have been demanding the Union government to permit the operation of Interest Free Banks which have been a great success in various parts of the world.