NCM will visit Saharanpur for first-hand info

The National Commission for Minorities will visit strife-torn Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in order to gauge ground realities and find out whether any community has been meted out injustice there.

The full National Commission for Minorities team will visit the district in western Uttar Pradesh, which has been plagued by caste clashes between Thakurs and dalits, NCM member Sulekha Kumbhare said.

She said that all team members will visit Saharanpur next week to assess ground realities and Justice should be ensured. “But we need to check the factual position first”. Several people were injured and two were killed since violence erupted on May 5 and around 25 homes were set ablaze in Saharanpur.

The NCM will work like a bridge between the Centre and communities, Ms Kumhare said adding more powers were needed to be given to the panel also. The former Maharashtra minister demanded a constitutional status for the commission.

The NCM, which is a statutory body as of now, is headed by former national secretary of BJP’s minority morcha Gairul Hasan Rizvi. Other members of the commission are George Kurian, Sunil Singhi and Vada Dasturji Khurshed Kaikobad Dastoor.

The commission was set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 to address complaints of five religious communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis).