Minority commission for Goa soon: Mulla
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, MAY 3
There’s good news for the minority Muslim community in Goa.
If the convenor of the minority department of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Urfan Mulla is to be believed, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Salman Kurshid has assured Goan Muslims that the government would soon set up a minority commission for Goa besides reservations for the Muslim community.
The Union Minister gave the assurance to a delegation by Mulla in the presence of South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha and AICC general secretary Minority Department Anees Durrani in Delhi.
Briefing newsmen, Mulla said the GPCC minority cell delegation drew attention of the Union Minister to the problems faced by the Muslim community in Goa including the Kabrastan, implementation of minority commission, reservations and education.
The delegation demanded the implementation of the minority commission like in other states, which benefits the minority community.
On reservations, the delegation said that States such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal has provided reservations for the community on the basis of the economic backwardness. In this connection, the delegation asked the Union Minister to pressurize the Goa government to allow at least 10 per cent reservation to the minority community.
As far as education is concerned, the delegation said the government of India has provided many facilities to the minority community to strengthen minority schools and colleges, adding that the same should be extended to the minority in Goa./
“The Union Minister took serious note that minorities will not be taken for granted and promised to look into the matter”, Mulla said, adding that the Kurshid has assured to take up the issue with the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and solve the problems at the earliest.
Replying to a question, Mulla said the delegation also took up the long pending issue of a kabrastan.
“We have told the Union Minister that the government is least bothered about the problem faced by the Muslim community despite hunger strike and other modes of agitations by members of the minority community”, Mulla said.
