Najma slams states not sending ministers to minorities meet

Slamming the states which did not send their ministers for a conference to discuss issues involving minorities, Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla today said it showed they were not "interested" in welfare of the communities.
"If they (ministers) come, they will benefit. I am not disappointed, but sad. I am sad they are not realising that if they cooperate with us, it is they who will benefit. People of these states will benefit.
"Our government wants to do something in your states. This will not mean that the Centre is not focused on implementing schemes in states. But it shows that those who have not turned up are not interested in the welfare of the minorities. This is the message that is going out," she said.

She made these remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the day-long meeting held here in this regard.
Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments in particular came under fire from the minister.
During the conference, Heptulla also asked an official from UP to convey her message to the state government that the Centre is expecting cooperation from the Akhilesh Yadav dispensation.

"We are extending a helping hand to you and you are not even holding it," she told the officer.
According to a statement issued later, Heptulla expressed concern over "consistent absence" of ministers from certain states and said such platform sought cooperation from one and all.

She also invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stress that the fight of Hindus or Muslims was not against each other, but against poverty.
The National Conference of Ministers and Secretaries of Minority Affairs in States and Union Territories, first such meeting convened by the BJP-led NDA government, was attended by ministers of nine states; Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Bihar, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
In addition to these states, officials from Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh among others were present for the conference.
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Heptulla said imparting education to students from minority communities remains high on government's agenda.

She also said that Centre wanted to develop waqf properties in states for empowerment of Muslim community by bridging its economic deficit.
"If there is a doubt that we will take away these properties, then it is incorrect. We want to develop these for empowerment of people. We don't want to take away properties," she said.
Heptulla said the website of her ministry will soon provide a window for suggestions from states and UTs on solving problems facing the minority communities.
She urged the participants to monitor implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes at ground-level and furnish completion and utilisation certificates in time to enable the Centre to release funds.