MUMBAI: Keeping its eyes on the forthcoming general elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly, the Congress-led Democratic Front government has started wooing the Muslim vote bank.
The state government appears to be making entry easy for the Muslim community in the state to the prestigious Indian Administrative Services.
The state government is contemplating reserving seats for the Muslim community in the state-run institutions in Maharashtra, imparting training for the civil services exams.
State Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh held a meeting at his official residence on Friday morning to discuss the recommendations made in the interim report submitted by Mohammed Rehman Committee, which was set up after the Sachar Committee recommendations.
During the meeting Deshmukh observed that to bring the Muslim community in the mainstream, there was a need to absorb them in government services. “There is a need to find out whether seats could be reserved for Muslim candidates, planning to join the Indian Administrative Services, in the state-run institutions.”
As per the recommendations, Deshmukh has given directions to make necessary provisions in the Minority Development Department for overall development of the Muslim community.
To encourage education among the Muslim students, the state government has also decided to distribute free textbooks, notebooks and uniforms to the Muslim students.
The state government had recently announced that a separate board for Madarsas on the lines of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) boards would be set up, which would be managed by the Madarsas and there would be no government intervention in the management of this board.
