'Set up Christian Finance Development Corp'

Hyderabad, Jul 19: The All India Christian Council today thanked Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for setting up a separate department in the Minorities Welfare Ministry to look into the issues of Christians and urged him to set up the Christian Minority Finance Development Corporation at the earliest.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, a copy of which was released to the press here, Council National Secretary Sam Paul said the setting up of a separate department in the Minorities Welfare Ministry would help the department to focus on the issues faced by the Christian community, address them in a time-bound manner and coordinate their need with all other Ministries of the government.

He also appreciated the State government's decision to spend Rs 127 crore, which would be allocated to the minorities, in proportion to the population of the minorities in the state.

The constitution of the Christian Minority Finance Development Corporation should also be taken up so that the issues pertaining to the community could be adequately addressed by the Government, he added.

The National Congress of Indian Christians (NCIC) and AP United Christian Association (APUCA) also welcomed the State government's decisions on separate department for welfare of Christians and a separate finance corporation for the community. They also hailed the State government's move to conduct mass marriages to help poor Christians on the lines of 'Kalyanamasthu', according to a press release here.

They demanded the state government increase reservation from 1 per cent to 5 per cent in the quota for the backward class group 'C', saying the Tamil Nadu government had provided 3.5 per cent reservation each to Christians and Muslims.

They also demanded the establishment of a new university exclusively meant for Christians and creation of a separate law and cell in the police department on atrocities against Christian community on the lines of Prevention of Atrocities on SCs/STs Act, 1989.

UNI