Do not take minorities for granted: Sharad Pawar

In an apparent dig at ally Congress, NCP chief and Union minister Sharad Pawar today warned "secular" parties against taking minorities for granted in the belief that they have no alternative but to support them.

"Minority welfare is a long drawn process, but at least we should make a beginning. NCP is working in that direction. Some big parties -- we do not claim we are a big party with 150 years of experience -- tend to take the minorities for granted," Pawar, who holds the agriculture portfolio in the Union cabinet, said at an NCP function here.

He said there was a tendency among secular parties to take minorities for granted thinking that they would not favour outfits like the RSS and the BJP.

"But if such attitude gains ground among secular parties it leads to ignoring the genuine problems of minorities. This approach is wrong and if it persists, the concerned community will also say if we are going to hell let us also take the political party with us as well," Pawar said.

He underlined the initiatives taken by the government to make education and housing more accessible to the minorities but stressed that the policies should be implemented properly.

"We should not say that our job is done merely by sanctioning money to state governments. We have to ensure that it is utilised for the purpose it has been granted for," Pawar said.

Pawar claimed that Maharashtra government, in which NCP
is a coalition partner, has moved a proposal providing reservation for minorities in the housing sector.

Congress, however, refused to comment on Pawar's statements.

"We do not comment on our allies," was the reply of AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

Party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said he had no clue on what Pawar has said and hence he did consider it appropriate to comment on his statement.

The Congress leader dismissed Left's allegations that the UPA government was not serious about implementing the recommendations of minorities related Sachchar Commission and Ranganath Mishra Commission.

"It was the UPA government led by Congress which constituted these commissions and not any other party," he said.