Bring Bill enabling reservation for Muslims: SP to Centre

Lucknow, May 28: The Samajwadi Party today urged the Centre to bring in a Constitutional amendment bill favouring reservation for Muslims saying that such a move would show how the various political parties stood on the issue.

"Centre should make a Constitutional amendment to provide reservation to Muslims and SP will support it," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav told reporters at a joint press conference here with Union minorities affairs minister K Rahman Khan.

The UP CM also demanded more funds for its minority welfare programmes saying that given the size of the state, the monetary allocation for such schemes needed to be hiked.

For his part, Union minister Rahman Khan, said that the Centre was waiting for a decision on the issue of reservation for Muslims, pending in Supreme Court, before any further steps in that direction as promised during the 2009 polls.

"We have in full honesty implemented the recommendations of the Sachar committee. Out of 72, we identified 69 recommendations and implemented 66," the Union minister said.

Meanwhile, referring to a review meeting of minority welfare scheme in UP, Khan said that a body would be soon created to oversee the implemenation of such programmes. Noting that of a total of Rs 1,100 crore given to the state for minority welfare, 72 per cent had been spent, the Union minister said that the performance was satisfactory but needed improving.

As to education for Muslims, Khan mentioned a plan for six central minority universities to be established and revealed that the process of identifying sites for the same was on.

Khan also informed that a Waqf development corporation would be constituted with funds of Rs 500 crore which would explore the scope of commercial utilisation of the properties.

UP minority welfare minister Mohd Azam Khan, too, was present on the occasion.

PTI