The Minority Coordination Committee (NCC), a Gujarat civil rights organization, has announced that it will be holding a rally in favour of its demands in Morbi, a town in the Saurashtra region, on the International Minority Rights Day, December 18, 2019.
Announcing this, MCC convener Mujahid Nafees said, the demands include formation of a minority welfare department, a minority commission, necessary provision in the budget for minority development, and protection of the minority community in the state.
"The state government is constantly doing injustice to the 11.5% of the minority community people in Gujarat", said Nafees, pointing out, "In Gujarat, the minority community is living in fear. Even transportation of buffaloes is termed as theft of the holy cow for slaughter."
Insisting that the state government's slogan "beti bachao beti padhao" is an eyewash, Nafees said, "The girls of the Muslim community in Gujarat suffer from a high dropout rate to the tune of 10.58% in the standards of 1-5, yet the government is not doing anything concrete."
According to him, "There is no minority commission to handle the complaints of minorities in Gujarat, though there is one in the country. This is a clear example of discrimination. Even other states have minority commissions."
Announcing a list of demands following a meeting in Morbi with MCC activists for the proposed rally, Nafees said, "The government should open primary schools in minority dominated areas, madrasa education should be recognized as equivalent to the Gujarat board, and special economic package should be announced for the upliftment of the minority community."
Then, he said, the government should come up with a policy for the rehabilitation of the people displaced by communal violence, the Prime Minister's 15-point programme should be implemented in the state, the state government should introduce the Minorities (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is the state assembly, and mob lynching should be dealt with strictly.
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