Proposed panel to help get rights,says minister

Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid said on Saturday that the idea of minorities in contemporary India goes beyond what was envisaged by the Union government to include five religious groups.

Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid said on Saturday that the idea of minorities in contemporary India goes beyond what was envisaged by the Union government to include five religious groups.

He said the governments proposed Equal Opportunities Commission will help people denied opportunities get their rights in the field of education and employment within a fixed time-frame. Khurshid was talking on Minorities and the Mainstream, the second in a series of public lectures at St Stephens College.

To set up the Commission,the government will table a Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament. The proposed panel is among recommendations made by the Sachar Committee. Khurshid said people approaching the Commission will not have to bring data to redress their grievances. People just have to trigger off an inquiry, he said.

Without naming the actor,Khurshid used the example of Emraan Hashmis recent allegation that he was discriminated against by a Mumbai housing cooperative. Khurshid said the EOC in that case would have looked at data like the cooperatives history and analysed the case.

He said the Commission will also have a right to intervene in private industries and institutions.

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