Ministry mulling more teeth for National Commission for Minorities

The Minority Affairs Ministry headed by Salman Khursheed is contemplating giving more teeth to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), which is so far only a recommendatory body.        

"It's obviously something that is felt very seriously by them...We will certainly give this a serious look," Khursheed told PTI when asked whether the ministry would give additional powers to NCM like that of summoning as is the case with some other commissions.        

Khursheed will be holding a detailed discussion with NCM Chairman Mohammad Shafi Qureshi and other members next week when the commission is likely to raise all pending issues including its demand for a constitutional status.        

NCM had submitted a draft in this regard to the ministry almost two years back when A R Antulay was the Minority Affairs Minister in the last UPA government.        

"We had submitted the draft report demanding constitutional status for NCM and some more powers including that for summoning during the last government," Qureshi said.        

"The government had in fact tabled the bill in Parliament, which was later referred to a high-level committee which also okayed it. Meanwhile, the government's term came to an end. We are hopeful that the issue will be settled by the new government," Qureshi said.

Qureshi said the Commission feels it will be in a position to effectively redress complaints if the power to summon the parties is given to it on the lines of National Human Right Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.        

"We want that we should be able to perform the job to the best satisfaction of the applicant, who approaches us with any grievance. People who come here should feel that their problems will be taken to a logical conclusion," he said.        

NCM officials argued that they feel constrained when their observations and recommendations are completely ignored by the authorities.        

A number of NCM's recommendations in wake of the communal violence in Orissa previously were not adhered to by the state government despite a number of correspondences.        

Even in the last year's communal violence in Karnataka and Orissa, the commission found it tough enough to get even proper information about the incidents from both the government.        

Khursheed, while appreciating the concern of the commission, however, also had a word of caution for them, "sometimes these facts are overstated".