Crores of rupees earmarked for development work by declaring 795 locations in India as Muslim-majority

The result of the scheme launched by Congress was not for the economically weak but for the so-called minority

Mumbai – During Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister, the Congress implemented a multi-sectoral development program for Muslims in the country under the name of ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Program’. This initiative allocated significant funds towards developing 795 areas predominantly inhabited by minorities across 213 Districts and cities in 26 States of the country. Annually, crores of rupees are disbursed through this program to facilitate developmental projects specifically in Muslim-majority areas. Notably, this allocation is not based on economic backwardness but rather on minority status. Launched by the Congress 15 years ago, this scheme persists, with the number of Muslim-majority settlements steadily increasing each year. These details are disclosed in a book published by the Minorities Department of the Government of Maharashtra, focusing on schemes tailored for minority communities.

Majority of the beneficiaries are Muslims

Although officially named as ‘Multi-Sectoral Development Programme’, in reality, Congress started this scheme to develop the Muslim-majority areas under the guise of this scheme. Funds are allocated under this scheme in minority-dominated areas in the areas of a municipality, or nagar panchayat where the population of minorities (Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Jews) is more than 10 % of the total population. The scheme mentions ‘Development of minority areas’ and most of the beneficiaries of this scheme are Muslims. Through this initiative, funds have been earmarked for various essential services and infrastructure projects in minority areas, including provisions for clean drinking water systems, solar lighting schemes, construction of hostels for minority students, health centres and Anganwadi, toilet facilities and electrification, among others.

Development works in 710 minority-dominated cities across the country

For the development of minority-dominated areas, the then Congress Government started this scheme in 2008-09 and allocated funds of Rs 3,780 crores. Initially, this scheme was rolled out in 90 minority-dominated Districts of the country. Subsequently, during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), a substantial increase in funding was observed, reaching Rs 5,775 crores. From this, 710 minority-dominated cities in 196 Districts of 26 States were identified and infrastructure development works were carried out there.

34 cities in 24 Districts of Maharashtra included in the scheme

This scheme has been implemented across 24 Districts in Maharashtra, encompassing 34 cities and 28 settlements. Notably, within Maharashtra, a significant allocation of funds has been directed towards the development of Muslim-majority settlements, particularly in the districts of Akola, Buldhana, and Amravati.

Funds allocated for Idgah in the name of urban settlements

Although this scheme has been launched in the name of the development of minority-dominated urban areas, funds have also been provided for the development of Idgahs, the religious places of Muslims. Along with this, funds have also been provided for social halls and communal places for Muslims.

Editorial Perspectives

• Why focus solely on the development of minority areas ? Aren’t the Hindus, citizens of this country ? In many such matters, Congress has done great injustice to Hindus by allocating funds and facilities to Muslims based on religion. No one will be surprised if Hindus end the political existence of Congress in the upcoming elections.
• This shows that most of the tax money of the majority of Hindus is spent on supporting minorities. Many of these minority religious fanatics, however, are involved in various forms of Jihad and anti-national activities. Therefore, the Union Government should immediately end the schemes started by Congress for the Muslims as a minority.