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New Delhi, Oct. 29: K. Rahman Khan got down to business as new minority affairs minister with a veiled criticism of the way programmes were run under his predecessor Salman Khurshid.
“I have got reports that the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme for minorities is not being implemented in letter and spirit. There is an apprehension that development funds are not reaching some minority-concentrated areas,” Khan said hours after taking charge.
The scheme was announced in 90 minority-concentration districts across the country following the Sachar committee report that highlighted the community’s lack of progress in several spheres.
Khan’s comments come against the backdrop of unease among ministry officials who felt Khurshid spent most of his time in the law ministry, his other portfolio till yesterday when he was made foreign minister. “It’s good we now have a full-time minister,” said an official.
Khurshid’s detractors in the community had launched a campaign that portrayed him as an “elite” removed from the concerns of common Muslims.
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