Police clearance for passports tops minority problems list

Bangalore - In an interactive session between elected representatives, NGOs, representatives of various forums and National Commission for Minorities Vice-Chairman H.T. Sangliana, the issue of undue delay in issuance of police clearance certificates for passport applications submitted by minorities, topped the list of problems faced by the community here on September 7.

While speaking during the interaction, Congress MLA? N.A. Harris expressed his concerns about minorities facing problems while obtaining police clearance certificates for passports and sought to know the reason for the same. “There is an inordinate delay in police clearance. During my four-and-a-half-year tenure as MLA, only people from minority communities come to me with this problem? Why cannot minorities be treated on par with others,” he questioned.

Sangliana alleged that he would take up the matter during his internal discussions with top government officials.

Another Congress MLA Tanveer Sait raised the issue of delay in sanctioning of scholarships to minority students. He also urged the government to petition the Centre to enhance the quantum of grants provided as scholarships to minority students.

Anwar Manippady, Chairman, Karnataka State Minorities Commission claimed that some minority educational institutions were collecting donations from minority students. “The privileges being provided to minority institutions is to ensure that they provide quality education for the students.

However, by collecting donations from minority students, they are defeating the very purpose of their existence,” he said.

The meeting also discussed the hardships being faced by educational institutions in getting minority status certificate from the State government. Chief Secretary S.V.? Ranganath, who was present at the meeting, said efforts would be made to simplify the procedure.

Congress legislator U.T.? Khader pointed out that a Cabinet meeting on September 6 had dropped charges on various ABVP? activists, at a time when the same group had attacked a girl for not responding to their college bandh call this week.

An invitee to the meeting sought that the police officers from the minority communities be deployed in areas with large population of minorities. 

Mr Sangliana said the commission had already taken programmes for re-sensitization of police with respect to minority communities.

Tanveer Sait drew attention to the shortage of staff in the minority welfare department and pointed out that even Cadre and Recruitment (C&R) rules had not been framed.

Mr Ranganath said he will attend to the matter on top priority.

Home Secretary V? Umesh, ADGP?(Law and Order) Bipin Gopalkrishna and Minority Department Secretary P.B.Ramamurthy were also present at the meeting.