Yogi wants minority quota axed
Senior UP minister Ramapati Shastri claims no such change on cards
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to scrap the minority quota under various schemes launched by former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had reserved 20 per cent quota for minorities in about 85 welfare schemes run by his government.
“This is in keeping with our policy of no discrimination and no appeasement. We are in the process of reviewing all the schemes. We will continue those that we consider are important but scrap others,” deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Monday.
Mr Maurya said that Muslims and other communities would continue to get the benefit of all schemes if they fulfilled the eligibility criteria. “It is not that we are depriving any one community, anyone and everyone who meets the specifications can avail the benefits of the schemes, but there will be no reservation on basis of religion,” he said.
Hours after Mr Maurya’s statement, senior UP minister Ramapati Shastri claimed there was no such plan.
This is the first time in the two-month-old government that contradictions have emerged between the ministers.
The CM, meanwhile, chose to maintain a studied silence.
The Samajwadi Party had promised in its manifesto to treat all Muslims as “most backward” and provide reservation to them in proportion to their population.
Samajwadi leader Ram Govind Chaudhary said the decision to keep a quota for Muslims was to ensure that the minority community got the benefits of every government scheme. “It is unfair of the government to scrap the minority quota, and it also reflects their anti-minority attitude,” he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has already scrapped the smart phone schemes announced by the SP government.
Additionally, the word “Samajwadi” has been removed from all schemes, replacing it with the word “Mukya Mantri”.
The Samajwadi Pension scheme is also being reviewed to ensure that all the beneficiaries are genuine.
Ration cards with photographs of Mr Akhilesh Yadav printed on them have been scrapped, though school bags with the photographs of former chief minister are still being distributed to “avoid wastage of money”.
The Yogi-led government has ended the “Samajwadi Awas Yojana” and has replaced it with the “Prime Minister Awas Yojana” in Uttar Pradesh to provide affordable housing to the poor.
The “Samajwadi Awas Yojana” was aimed at providing affordable housing to the masses.