In Chanditala to lay the foundation for a minority hospital on 20 acres of land in Bhangar, Mamata reiterated, “I have already implemented 99 per cent of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee. The little that remains to be done will also be done. We have published a book on the work we have done for our minority brothers.”
With panchayat polls around the corner, Mamata said, “I have created OBC quota for the minority brothers. We have included 86 communities of Muslims in the OBC quota and reserved 12-13 per cent for minorities. I plan to reserve seats for minorities in the higher education system also. There is an adverse campaign going on to portray the government as not doing anything for minorities. But, for instance, I can say that Kolkata Police has recruited 18 per cent minorities and is also recruiting constables. No media highlights these.”
On waqf properties being illegally captured, Mamata said, “Our government has handed over the investigation to the CBI to look into 14 waqf properties while the CID is probing 10-12 cases.”
She added that her government had started a scheme in which cycles worth Rs 3,000 would be given to 1.66 lakh Muslim girls.
Trinamool workers shouted slogans in support of Islam, who was arrested in a case of arson and attempt to murder in Bhangar on January 8. They demanded Islam’s release even as Mamata spoke on the dais.
Mamata also took the opportunity to attack the central government, claiming that it deducted all the revenue the state was earning. She added that despite the financial crunch, her government had distributed 7 lakh Kisan credit cards and created 2.5-3 lakh jobs in government offices and 10-12 lakh employment in the private sector.
Dasmunsi stokes Didi-honesty debate
Kolkata: Questioning the honesty debate around Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister and Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi on Monday said that by merely writing “symbol of honesty” at the bottom of a person’s cutout does not make that person honest. “There have been so many chief ministers in Bengal. But nobody has ever written ‘symbol of honesty’ below their pictures,” Dasmunsi said, referring to Banerjee’s several life-size cutouts that have come up in different parts of the city with the epithets.