If govt wants to grant minority status to Hindus in J&K, let them do it: NCM member

“The Commission has nothing to do with it (granting of minority status to any community)… We have no power in this regard,’’ she said. “When asked by the Home Ministry, we wrote the same thing, saying let Parliament enact a law and the Supreme Court take a decision.”

“There was discussion over it (in the ministry) and our chairman had categorically said that we are not law makers and let Parliament and the Supreme Court take a decision,’’ Shahezadi said.

The NCM member earlier in the day held discussions with UT Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta on implementation of centrally funded welfare schemes for minorities in Jammu and Kashmir.

When asked about Jammu and Kashmir having its own minority commission, she said the Commission will write to the government for setting up one in the UT. “We want it in every state… We write for the entire country and we will do it for J&K also, it is not a big thing,’’ she said.

The Supreme Court had in November last year given six more weeks to the Centre for completing consultations with states on the demand to grant minority status to Hindus in states where their numbers are below other communities.

This followed the government submission before court that it had received comments from 14 states and UTs and has sent reminders to others to send in their views at the earliest.

The Supreme Court was hearing petitions, including one by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, challenging the constitutional validity of the National Minority Commission Act-1992 that gives power to the Centre to notify minorities, and also seeking implementation of the apex court’s 2002 ruling in the T M A Pai case. The ruling said that for the purposes of Article 30 – that deals with the rights of minorities to establish educational institutions – religious and linguistic minorities will have to be identified at the state level.