Follow the Centre in minorities quota issue: Congress

PATNA: Bihar Congress today demanded the state government to arrange for provision for reservation within the OBC quota for minorities for jobs in Bihar.

Talking to reporters, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Choudhary Mahboob Ali Kaiser said the Centre had done a "remarkable work" by making a provision for providing 4.5 per cent reservation for minority within the OBC quota.

Kaiser said the Nitish Kumar government should also follow the same arrangement for reservation for minorities, otherwise the party would launch a statewide agitation.

Alleging that the minorities in Bihar had been victims of several 'condemnable' incidents under the NDA rule, he said several members of the minority community were killed in police firing in Forbesganj and Jamui and the government had failed to take appropriate action against the policemen.

He said the minorities accounted for 25 per cent of the population and the Centre had launched a multi-sectoral development project in Muslim dominated districts.

"But the project has failed to take off in Bihar and the funds provided under this scheme has not been properly utilised in seven selected districts in Bihar," he said.

Kaiser also held the Nitish Kumar government responsible for alleged neglect of Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages in Bihar.

The state government had reduced the budget for Urdu Academy in Bihar, Kaiser claimed.