Chennai: The Sachar Committee report is
not sacrosanct like the Quran and has to be looked at with a
critical eye and not viewed as something special given to
Muslims, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said here on Saturday.
"Sachar Committee report is not Quran. It could be
wrong and its recommendations and observations need to be
looked at with a critical eye. The recommendations should not
be seen as a special thing given to Muslims," he said at a
function here.
The Rajinder Sachar Committee was appointed by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh for preparing a report on the social,
economic and educational status of Muslims and was tabled in
Parliament on November 30, 2006.
Khurshid said a committee was studying a proposal to
recommend that the government rename his ministry as Ministry
of Equal Opportunities.
His ministry, he said, was often looked at as the only
one responsible for welfare of minorities, while the fact was
that other ministries too have a similar role.
"The Minority Affairs Ministry has only Rs 5,000 crore
but the HRD Ministry has Rs 65,000 crore. So it is not only
the Minority Affairs Ministry but other Ministries also that
have to look after the minorities," he said.
Asked if a separate quota for Muslim women could be
created in the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in
Parliament, he said it was a "tricky" issue and hoped that a
satisfactory solution would be found.
He urged minorities in South India to open educational
institutions in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam to promote
development.
PTI
