11-18-2006, 12:15 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Jaitley rips Sachar report apart </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
'Constitution has no provision for religion-based quota'
With Justice Rajindar Sachar submitting his report to the Prime Minister on Friday on the conditions of Muslims across the country, the BJP cautioned the Government against using the findings of the report to introduce religion-based reservation.Â
The report is silent on reservation for Muslims but talking to media persons after submitting the report, Justice Sachar said, <b>"It is (reservation) for the Government to decide."</b>
The report will be placed in the winter session of Parliament before it is made public. However, its contents have already been leaked to a section of the media.
Pointing out that the Constitution has no provision for religion-based reservation, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Arun Jaitley asked the <b>"UPA Government not to use Justice Sachhar Committee report as the launch pad for the religion-based reservation."</b>
Jaitley referred to the statement made by some union ministers and said this had generated doubts among the people that the Government was thinking of religion-based reservation.
Jaitley accused the Congress of not allowing Muslims to join the country's mainstream by doing little precious to socially, economically and educationally uplift them.<b> "This is what the Congress did during the past 50 years of its rule in the country. The country abused the Muslims as the vote bank. The Sachhar Committee is a case in point," </b>Jaitley said.
<b>"The Congress is indulging in sheer minorityism for the sake of vote bank politics. It is least bothered about the real welfare of Muslims in the country. The BJP wants that every possible effort should be made to upgrade the country's poor and backward masses economically and educationally, irrespective of their caste and religion,"</b> Jaitely said.
He said that his party would extend all possible help to the Government in implementing developmental works for them in the country. <b>"Does the Congress want their upliftment is the moot question. At least, the party's track record does not suggest so," he said.</b>
The BJP leader said that his party would make a detailed comment on the report only after going through the contents and recommendations. <b>"So far as whatever has appeared in the media is suggestive of the fact that the Committee has recommended quota for Muslims. If it is so, the BJP would oppose it, as it is unconstitutional," </b>Jaitely added.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had set up the seven-member Sachar panel in March for preparation of report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslim community of the country. Other members of the committee include Saiyid Hamid, TK Oommen, MA Basith, Rakesh Basant, Akhtar Majeed and Abusaleh Shariff. Its tenure was extended up to November 30.
Sources said that the report emphatically stated that the Muslim community is "lagging behind other religious groups in most development indicators," and recommended the Government to formulate appropriate measures to address their educational and economic backwardness.
<b>"Such a data is necessary for planning, formulating and implementing specific programmes to address issues,"</b> Manmohan Singh said after receiving the report.
The Prime Minister said that he wished wide debates on the report to enable a "national consensus" on how to improve the social, educational and economic status of Muslims.
The report stated that the community was "relatively poor, more illiterate, has lower access to education, lower representation in public and private sector jobs and lower availability of bank credit for self-employment".
"In urban areas, the community mostly lives in slums characterised by poor municipal infrastructure," the report mentions while specifying that there are considerable variations in their conditions across States and regions <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Muslim ruled India for 800 years and given two seperate countries and they call themselves backward.
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
'Constitution has no provision for religion-based quota'
With Justice Rajindar Sachar submitting his report to the Prime Minister on Friday on the conditions of Muslims across the country, the BJP cautioned the Government against using the findings of the report to introduce religion-based reservation.Â
The report is silent on reservation for Muslims but talking to media persons after submitting the report, Justice Sachar said, <b>"It is (reservation) for the Government to decide."</b>
The report will be placed in the winter session of Parliament before it is made public. However, its contents have already been leaked to a section of the media.
Pointing out that the Constitution has no provision for religion-based reservation, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Arun Jaitley asked the <b>"UPA Government not to use Justice Sachhar Committee report as the launch pad for the religion-based reservation."</b>
Jaitley referred to the statement made by some union ministers and said this had generated doubts among the people that the Government was thinking of religion-based reservation.
Jaitley accused the Congress of not allowing Muslims to join the country's mainstream by doing little precious to socially, economically and educationally uplift them.<b> "This is what the Congress did during the past 50 years of its rule in the country. The country abused the Muslims as the vote bank. The Sachhar Committee is a case in point," </b>Jaitley said.
<b>"The Congress is indulging in sheer minorityism for the sake of vote bank politics. It is least bothered about the real welfare of Muslims in the country. The BJP wants that every possible effort should be made to upgrade the country's poor and backward masses economically and educationally, irrespective of their caste and religion,"</b> Jaitely said.
He said that his party would extend all possible help to the Government in implementing developmental works for them in the country. <b>"Does the Congress want their upliftment is the moot question. At least, the party's track record does not suggest so," he said.</b>
The BJP leader said that his party would make a detailed comment on the report only after going through the contents and recommendations. <b>"So far as whatever has appeared in the media is suggestive of the fact that the Committee has recommended quota for Muslims. If it is so, the BJP would oppose it, as it is unconstitutional," </b>Jaitely added.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had set up the seven-member Sachar panel in March for preparation of report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslim community of the country. Other members of the committee include Saiyid Hamid, TK Oommen, MA Basith, Rakesh Basant, Akhtar Majeed and Abusaleh Shariff. Its tenure was extended up to November 30.
Sources said that the report emphatically stated that the Muslim community is "lagging behind other religious groups in most development indicators," and recommended the Government to formulate appropriate measures to address their educational and economic backwardness.
<b>"Such a data is necessary for planning, formulating and implementing specific programmes to address issues,"</b> Manmohan Singh said after receiving the report.
The Prime Minister said that he wished wide debates on the report to enable a "national consensus" on how to improve the social, educational and economic status of Muslims.
The report stated that the community was "relatively poor, more illiterate, has lower access to education, lower representation in public and private sector jobs and lower availability of bank credit for self-employment".
"In urban areas, the community mostly lives in slums characterised by poor municipal infrastructure," the report mentions while specifying that there are considerable variations in their conditions across States and regions <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Muslim ruled India for 800 years and given two seperate countries and they call themselves backward.