Owaisi slams ‘progress Panchayat’ as propaganda, questions its efficacy
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday downplayed Centre’s ‘Progress Panchayat’, a campaign to reach out to the minorities and dubbed the entire initiative as a propaganda.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday downplayed Centre’s ‘Progress Panchayat’, a campaign to reach out to the minorities and dubbed the entire initiative as a propaganda.
Owaisi said by taking such initiatives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not doing any favours to minority groups.
“All this is propaganda. If this government is doing anything, it is not like it is doing a favour. In 2016-17 the budget of ministry of minority affair was Rs 3,800 crore, only 12% of that has been released. In Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP), only 12% funds have been used,” said Owaisi.
“Rs 50 crore were sanctioned for Mewat, but not a single rupee has been released. And if you are going to conduct a panchayat on the name of empowerment then why are you not giving reservation to Muslims in the field of education as directed by the Bombay high court?” he asked.
Centre will on Thursday launch the Progress Panchayat to reach out to the minority community and publicise the various welfare measures taken by the NDA government.
Minister of state for minority affairs (independent charge) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will kick-start the programme from Mewat region of Haryana. The programme will be organised in 100 places across the country in the coming days where Union ministers will interact with people about the several schemes.
Besides holding the panchayat, Naqvi will also inaugurate a 100-bed hostel building for girls at Hathni in Palwal and staff quarters at schools in Nuh and Nagina. He will also lay the founding stone for a model school in Chilwali.
The special outreach programme comes days after Prime Minister Modi’s remarks quoting BJP idealogue Deen Dayal Upadhyay during party meet in Kerala, that the community must be empowered and not treated only as items of the vote market.