Squarely blaming the Congress for the plight of Muslims, Union Minority Affairs Minister A.R. Antulay today warned the community would hold up the country’s progress if steps are not taken for their economic uplift.Muslims, who constitute nearly 15 per cent of India’s population, will become a “drag” on the path to progress if they “continue to languish in social and economic backwardness”, he told a minorities conference here.“We are all to be equally blamed for this sad state of neglect, and I have no hesitation in owning up the responsibility of my own party and I apologise to the Muslims for the present state of affairs,” he said.According to Antulay, the primary concern of minorities is the threat to their lives and security during communal violence. It was imperative that Muslims are adequately represented in police and other security forces, he said.Antulay said the Central Government “shortly intends to implement in toto all recommendations of the Sachar Committee”, which studied the socio-economic state of the community.Referring to Congress’ pre-poll pledges to protect minority rights, he said, “I want to make it amply clear that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are determined to implement all policies aimed at the uplift of the minorities in the country.”
