Maya making a slew of pro-muslim announcements

Lucknow,Oct 13: In an apparent attempt to woo the Muslims ahead of general elections, the BSP president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday, Oct 13 announced that her party would ensure more representation of minority community in giving tickets for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

Castigating the Congress for the plight of muslims in the country over the years, she claimed that the Bahujan Samaj Party was the only political party to have heart for the muslims while others had always used them as vote banks.

The ''BSP would strive to send more and more Muslims to Lok Sabha and State Assmebly in whichever manner possible,''Ms Mayawati said during her address as chief guest at a national seminar on ' Muslims, their problems and redressal' organised by her party here.

She was quite forthcoming in her view against the Congress saying the sixty years of Congress rule could not see any rise in socio-economic status of Muslims in the country while the maximum riots had taken place. '' The Sacchar Committe, set up with an aim to study and suggest ways for upliftment of Muslims, is a blatant proof of the Congress's fake minortyism,''she fumed.

Not only the Congress, but other parties like Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party had also played with the sentiments of the community for the sake of votes. ''This situation is unacceptable to the BSP which is committed to improve the lot of Muslims as a party and also as a party in the power,'' she said.

The seminar attended by noted Muslim clerics, experts and scholors had assumed political importance in view of Samajwadi Party being in limelight following its tough posture on Batala house terrorist encounter. In the political circles, the seminar is being seen as BSP's attempt to win Muslim support ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Ms Mayawati spared no efforts to slam her political opponents and made every attempt to woo the muslims by announcing a slew of pro-muslim steps which included enhanced grants to madarsas, scolorships as well as setting up new schools and university.

She announced setting up a Persian-Arabic university in the state capital beside bringing one hundred more Madrasas in the government grant list as well as setting up primary,secondary and higher education institutions in muslim-dominated areas of the state.'' While 964 primary and 1212 secondary schools would be opened in muslim dominated areas of the state of which 100 schools would be exclusives for the girls'', she said.

The Chief Minister also announced to hike the income slab from Rs 18800 per month to Rs one lakh per month for the minority students to get scholarships while coaching centres for government jobs and IAS-IPS would be opened in the state capital for the minorities. Rs 135 crore would be spent for setting up 58 government secondary colleges in 22 muslim dominated districts of the state, she said.

Ms Mayawati also announced to set up a special minority cell under the chairmanship of state advisory council chairman Satish Chandra Mishra to review monthly the progress of the schemes announced for the muslims.

During this occasion, the Chief Minister also released a booklet on the status of the Muslims. The book let also describes the schemes launched by the BSP government.

UNI