Cabinet to discuss 15% quota for minorities in funds

The Union Cabinet will consider a proposal moved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to reserve 15 per cent of all funds disbursed by the central government under various welfare schemes, for minorities alone.

A note to this effect will be moved on Thursday when the Union Cabinet meets.

The move has been timed keeping in mind the impending elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the Muslim vote is being actively wooed by not just the mainstream political parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party but also a forum of Muslim clerics.

The government gives out nearly Rs 26,000 crore in welfare funds under various schemes for the poor.

Congress leaders, however, say, "It is true that Mulayam Singh Yadav has whisked away the Muslim vote from the Congress in UP, and to an extent this is the reason for the reservation, but there are other reasons as well."

"Even before the Sachar committee had been set up to look into the socio-economic and educational status of minorities in India, it is a well known fact that their economic status is quite poor compared to the general population," said a senior Congress minister.

"Recent reports that Muslims had been excluded from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Gujarat has reinforced this," he said. "This is the reason behind the proposed reservation," he added.

If cleared, the proposed reservation will be the third in the series of reservations announced or contemplated by the government.

Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has already gone ahead with reservations for OBCs in all government higher educational institutions, while Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar has been talking about reservations for SC/STs in private sector.