Govt launches health scheme for minority students

New Delhi: In a bid to woo minorities, the government Tuesday launched the `Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme` which would see a `Sehat Card` being issued to each minority student enrolled in institutions aided by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

Under this scheme, which was launched by Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan, students in the age group of 5-14 years will be provided with a health card which will entitle them to free check-ups twice a year at the place where they are studying. "We want to identify diseases from an early stage among children," Khan said. He also launched another scheme, Nalanda Project, which is a development programme for the orientation of faculties of minority universities and minority-managed degree colleges and higher educational institutions. Professor AR Kidwai of Aligarh Muslim University, where the project has been taken up, said the idea behind it is to raise the standards of education in minority degree colleges. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had in his budget speech announced that medical facilities for students would be provided through institutions financed by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation. He had earmarked Rs 100 crore for the same. Meanwhile, with the general elections round the corner, Khan attacked BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and accused him of being a "communal" leader who would never become the prime minister. Making a distinction between the Gujarat riots of 2002 and the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Khan said that while Congress leaders had apologised for the riots, Modi never has. He further blamed Samajwadi Party for the Muzaffarnagar riots and accused its government of not having provided enough relief to the victims even though the UPA government had given it a package for rehabilitation.