Samajwadi Party to woo Muslims with new schemes

After wooing the Hindus with a slew of schemes, the Akhilesh government is now preparing to launch new schemes for Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. According to highly-placed sources, the state government will announce these schemes in the budget to be tabled next month.

A senior official said that proposals were being drafted to construct and upgrade hostels in about 250 madarasas across the state and provide more facilities for its students.

“This will prove beneficial for students who come from other districts to study in madarasas. A sum of Rs 400 crores is likely to be earmarked for this. Model inter colleges for girls and boys are also proposed for Muslim-dominated districts where students from the minority community can opt for higher education,” he said, adding that an educational hub for Muslim students was also on the anvil. Additional budget is to be sanctioned for coaching centres and scholarships for minorities.

The Akhilesh government also plans to construct boundary walls around 87,000 Muslim graveyards here to prevent encroachment.

The state government, in the past four years, has spent Rs 700 crores on this and another Rs 400 crores is likely to be set aside for this. It will also focus on monitoring in every district to ensure that the benefits of various schemes are percolating down to the minorities.

A senior SP minister said that announcement of schemes was just one aspect of minority welfare and it was more important to ensure proper implementation at the grassroots level.

“We have had schemes in the past too but the implementation has been poor. This time, the chief minister is determined to ensure that the benefits reach the target groups”, he said.

The Akhilesh government is apparently making a renewed bid to consolidate its Muslim support base with a slew of schemes and projects

Significantly, in the past one year, the state government has been trying to cultivate a more Hindu-friendly image by launching schemes like Samajwadi Shrawan Yatra — which offers free pilgrimage to senior citizens — and upgrading places of Hindu pilgrimage. They have also developed infrastructure in temple towns like Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi and providing facilities for pilgrims. The focus is also on developing new religious tourist circuits in the state.