Exclusive | UPA Govt's 15-Point Plan for Muslims Based on Sachar Report Was Eyewash: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Union minister of minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that the ‘PM’s 15-Point Programme’ based on the Sachar Committee recommendations was just an eyewash by the UPA government. The minister made the comment during an exclusive conversation with News18 Urdu’s Khurram Ali Shahzad.

Naqvi asked when and where injustice has been done with minorities in the country. He said that when the Narendra Modi government constructed houses for the poor, 39 per cent of the beneficiaries were minorities. The government has provided electricity to villages and 36 per cent of these belonged to the minority communities, said the minister.

The union government has reached all sections of the society, he said.

The ministry of minority affairs was formed in 2006, as recommended by the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee. A 15-point Prime Minister’s programme regarding budget allocation in other ministries was also introduced. The ministry of minority affairs was to oversee this programme.

Naqvi said that the 15-point programme was only for “khanapurti” (show) and “lipapoti” (eyewash). “Our commitment is to take the minority community on the path of development without any discrimination, with determination and respect,” he added.

The Sachar Committee was a seven-member panel set up in March 2005 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It was headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic and educational condition of Muslims in India. The committee in 2006 submitted its 403-page report that had suggestions and solutions for the inclusive development of Muslims in India.

Naqvi said, “We are trying to give a scholarship to as many people as possible. The government of India has provided scholarships to the 5 crore minority students since its formation.”

The minister said that during the last five-six years, the ministry had also given 55 lakh scholarships, including 50 per cent to girls.

Naqvi said that this year the government is planning to sanction scholarships for 90 lakh students.

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