Union Minister Naqvi reviews minorities' empowerment in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Feb 18: Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday reviewed issues related to empowerment of minorities in Maharashtra at a meeting with the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here.

"My meeting with Fadnavis was a follow-up on the issues of minorities empowerment. I had earlier held a meeting with Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse and the concerned officials of the minorities welfare department," Naqvi said.

"There is a proposal to develop three Maharashtra city corporations as model corporations for minority empowerment. I had detailed discussion on this with Fadnavis, and the state government will identify these cities based on population data," he said.

"The priority today is growth and development. Fundamentalist forces and Talibani mindset are the enemies of development. These forces can be defeated only when we face them with unity," he said.

"There are some parties, which call themselves secular and try to win votes by promising reservation for minorities. Our government is committed to all-round development of all the people and not any single section of people," he said.

On what to expect during the budget session of Parliament beginning February 23, Naqvi said, "The session will be very important from the point of view of country's progress. Besides the Union Budget, several key bills aimed at furthering the reforms process will be presented."

PTI