Explain why Muslims falling off job scheme: Centre to Gujarat

Waking to discrimination in flagship job scheme, UPA asks for corrective steps, explanation; minorities panel, too, seeks report

After a series of reports in The Indian Express on how Muslims are being kept out of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme in Gujarat villages worst affected by the 2002 riots, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has written to the Gujarat chief secretary, demanding “corrective action” and an explanation.

“I am concerned about this lapse and am awaiting the state government’s response,” said Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.

According to him, the initial response has been encouraging, with local politicians promising to take corrective steps.

The Union Ministry for Minority Affairs, too, took note of the reports, and expressed its concern in a letter to the rural development ministry, asking for an investigation into the complaints of Muslims being discriminated against in the UPA government’s flagship scheme.

Officials at the minority affairs ministry said they had decided it would be better for the rural development ministry to seek explanation from Gujarat.

They said the state government may simply deny the charges levelled in the reports. Therefore, the rural development ministry, as the nodal agency for the job guarantee scheme, will be in a better position to assess the ground situation.

“The Ministry of Minority Affairs has written to the Rural Development Ministry for investigation of the reports of Muslims being excluded from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Gujarat,” said secretary M N Prasad.

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In fact, the state government’s director of information had written to The Indian Express saying that Muslims had moved out of the villages in search of “greener pastures” or were not interested in taking up jobs involving heavy labour.

But the job cards, the voters list from the villages, and what Muslims from the villages told The Indian Express gave a different picture.(‘Gujarat still says all’s fine with job scheme; but here are the facts again,’ May 31).

The National Commission for Minorities has also sought a report from the Gujarat government on whether Muslims from the Panchmahals, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts have been kept out of the scheme.

It quoted from the report that Muslims “have been kept out of the scheme through a strategy mixing disinformation with no information and prejudice.” t said the commission had asked the state government to submit a report immediately.