KOLKATA: Two days after former Left Front cabinet minister Dr Abdus Sattar was appointed as chief advisor to the Mamata Banerjee government, Chief Minister Banerjee has instructed him to address the ongoing disputes over wakf properties in the state.
Sources in the state Minority Affairs Department have indicated that there are approximately 3,000 wakf properties embroiled in disputes. These issues have remained unresolved for years, prompting the Chief Minister to seek senior officials capable of breaking the deadlock.
Sattar, once a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) during the Left Front era, later joined the Congress before moving to the Trinamool Congress. “Sattar shall advise Banerjee and the Department of Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education on all matters relating to welfare activities for the minorities of the state,” an official stated.
As part of his new role, Sattar will receive the salary, allowances, and perks equivalent to those of a cabinet minister in the state government. He may assume the position after securing a lien from his current role as an associate professor.
In the 2006 assembly elections, Sattar was elected from the Amdanga constituency and subsequently appointed as Minister of State for Minority Development, Welfare, and Madrasah Education under the Left Front government. It is notable that the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule in the state in 2011.
