CHENNAI: Minority Affairs minister Salman Khursheed on Saturday suggested that his ministry evolve into a Ministry for Equal Opportunities. He also slammed some of the Sachar Committee’s recommendations as they would ghettoise the Muslim community.Speaking to reporters after delivering a special address at the Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women in Chennai, Khursheed said it was his desire that his ministry evolve into an Equal Opportunities Ministry.“Once the Equal Opportunities Commission, which was recommended by Sachar report, is finalised we may actually start thinking of a new structure of the ministry,” he added.Hitting out at the Sachar committee report, he said it would ghettoise the Muslim community as it only wanted the Ministry of Minority Affairs to focus on the welfare of the community.“The ministry has only Rs 5,000 crore as its budget. If the community is dependent on only this ministry it will be devoid of funds from other ministries like the Ministry of Human Resources Development which has funds of more than Rs 65,000 crore. Moreover, this ministry doesn’t cater only to Muslims,” he added.Urging Muslims not to restrict their thinking only to their community, he said they should focus on larger issues like corruption, human rights and Naxalism.“Why are Muslims silent on the Lokpal issue or on the issue of freedom for Binayak Sen,” he asked.Hailing the community for doing well in all walks of life, including science, cinema and sports, he stressed the need for support in banking and civil services.He also urged Muslims in the South to migrate and bridge the north-south divide by opening up quality institutions in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.On the problem at Aligarh Muslim University where the institution approached the government to remove its Vice Chancellor, he said issues in the minority community should be resolved within the community without political intervention.He added his ministry had disbursed 44 lakh matric and post matric scholarships and 750 PhD scholarships to minorities last year and would issue 60 lakh matric and post matric and 1,400 PhD scholarships in the coming year.
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