Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today cited National Commission for Minorities data to assert that the talk about intolerance was "politically- manufactured propaganda" as the number of complaints received by the body has come down in the last two years.
The Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs said the Narendra Modi government has kicked out "power brokers and middlemen" and is now working to ensure all-round empowerment of minorities. "Hundreds of crores have already been disbursed to various states for this purpose," he said.
Attacking rival parties, Naqvi alleged that some "so- called political champions of secularism" had tried to create an atmosphere of fear to defame the Modi Government but the people have rejected these "ill designs".
"There are people who kept talking of intolerance but the ground reality is different. The number of complaints received by the National Commission for Minorities related to such incidents has fallen which exposes this politically- manufactured propaganda," Naqvi told reporters here.
Sharing data, Naqvi said that in the year 2012-13, the number of complaints received by the NCM was 2,127 while in 2013-14 this number was around 2,638.
In 2014-15, the number of such complaints came down to 1,995 and in the current fiscal, it is around 1,461, he said.
Naqvi said that under the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) and other initiatives, Minority Affairs ministry has released Rs 565 crores to West Bengal, Rs 303 crores to Uttar Pradesh, Rs 170 crores to Assam while other states too have been provided funds during this year.
He said scholarships worth about Rs 2011 crores were distributed among about 85 lakh students in 2014-15. NMDFC loans worth Rs 431 crores were given to 1.08 lakh beneficiaries.
A 'Sashaktikaran Samagam' (Empowerment Conclave) is also being planned by the Centre in Delhi, in 2016, he said. He added that information related to the requirement of minorities before the budget would also be collected from the grass-root level.
Naqvi said that to ensure that funds reach intended recipients, the Minority Affairs Ministry has formed monitoring committees at district and state level comprising of MPs, MLAs, officials and others.
During the interaction, Naqvi was asked to comment on
reports regarding criticism in a book by former NCM chief Tahir Mahmood questioning the panel's utility saying it had failed to bring positive changes in the lives of minorities.
As per reports, Mahmood had suggested that the NCM should be given a "decent burial".
"We believe scrapping NCM is no solution. But if there is a suggestion for its betterment, improvement, we are definitely open to it," Naqvi responded.
Naqvi said the efforts of the Central government have resulted into creation of an atmosphere of trust among these sections towards it.
He said that "Mission Empowerment" initiated by him is an important measure for socio-economic-educational empowerment of Minorities.
Naqvi claimed that he had visited 19 states so far under the mission to get grass root level information regarding requirements of Minorities.
