Will back Muslim quota Bill if tabled,Akhilesh tells UPA

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asked Union Minister for Minority Affairs K Rehman Khan to bring in a constitutional amendment Bill for providing reservation to Muslims.

Providing reservation to Muslims without amendment to the Constitution is not possible. We are ready to support it whenever you bring such a Bill, Akhilesh said at a press conference with Rehman.

In its Assembly election manifesto,the SP had promised reservation to Muslims in proportion to their population.

The issue cropped up when Rehman Khan was highlighting the achievements of his ministry. He mentioned that the Sachar Committee made 72 recommendations for the uplift of Muslims. From these,the Union government did not accept three and could not implement three others. But we have implemented the remaining 66 recommendations, he said. At this,state Minister of Minority Welfare Azam Khan slammed the Congress for doing lip service towards Muslims for the past six decades. Reservation to Muslims is the soul of the Sachar Committee recommendations. We understand that you do not have a majority,but at least bring the Bill, he said. Rehman Khan responded: You tell me any recommendations of Sachar Committee which has been left out and it will be implemented within 24 hours.

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region

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A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit near Russia's Kamchatka region on Saturday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km and was felt on the east coast.

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