VIJAYAWADA: Muslim Intellectual Forum (MIF) submitted a charter of 18 demands to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu since it believes that Muslims had been given a raw deal by successive governments despite the fact that they constitute 11 per cent of the population, if unofficial estimates are any indication.
An MIF delegation led by Vijayawada West MLA Jaleel Khan met the CM and explained to him the Muslims’ plight and wanted a generous allocation of funds in the next budget, since in last two budgets, the amount allotted for their welfare was meagre. The delegation said in the first year of formation of the state, the allocation was Rs 371 crore and in the present year (2015-16), it was Rs 379 crore. It wanted it to be raised to Rs 1,500 crore.
Drawing the CM’s attention to his poll promises, the delegation urged him to allot funds for welfare of minorities in accordance with their population in each district. They said the budget allotted was much less compared to neigbouring states where population of Muslims was much less than in AP.
The 18 demands included housing for Muslims, protection of Wakf lands and implementation of citizens’ charter in the Minorities welfare department after strengthening it with more staff. Another demand was provision of reservations to Muslims as per Justice Ranganath Mishra commission.