Allocate Rs 5,900 crore for minorities: Letter to Gujarat CM ahead of interim budget

The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat, has demanded that the state government should allocate Rs 5,940 crore for the development of minorities, regretting, unlike Government of India, Gujarat has no separate budget for them.
In a letter sent to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani ahead of the interim budget session of the state assembly, MCC convener Mujahid Nafees said, this situation is there despite the fact that Gujarat has 11% population of minorities, of which 9.7% are Muslims, and the total budget for 2018-19 was Rs 1,825,000 crore.
Insisting that the minorities are "very backward" and need "protection", Nafees said, a new department of minority affairs on lines of the Centre should be created and it should be allocated Rs 1,000 crore.
Other major demands are: A State Commission for Minorities which should be allocated Rs 250 crore; Rs 1,100 crore for the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) for Minorities; an allocation Rs 500 crore for education, empowerment, skill development and livelihoods of minorities; special financial package for upliftment of minorities Rs 1,200 crore; and Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of riot victims.

Comments

BRICS ends, but Bangladesh's empty chair says more than any declaration

By Nava Thakuria The 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit, hosted by India at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, has concluded with leaders formally adopting the New Delhi Declaration. The gathering, themed "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," drew Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other leaders of the now 11-member bloc, along with heads of partner organisations such as ASEAN, the African Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. Diplomats had worked through the final hours to bridge differences — notably between Iran and the UAE over West Asian tensions — before the declaration was signed.

Swaminarayan, untouchability and the 'we are not Hindu' argument

By Rajiv Shah Following my blog on why the Eiffel Tower authorities should take all the blame for giving in to the Swaminarayan sadhus ’ bizarre demand to “invisibilise” women, including its female staff, during their visit to the internationally renowned Paris tourist centre on September 5, an interesting comment by one of the top academics drew my attention to something I vaguely knew about one of India’s most powerful and richest religious sects.

BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism

By Rajiv Shah I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

Counterview

Search This Blog