The Trinamool Congress' manifesto for the Assembly elections in West Bengal mentions the Sachar Committee's report, but in the two years it has been part of the government at the Centre, it has never pressed for its implementation, Mohd. Salim, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said on Sunday.
Speaking to journalists here, he highlighted the achievement of the Left Front government in implementing schemes for the minority communities, including reservation in government jobs, higher education and panchayats for the OBC Muslims. He also spoke about measures implemented in education and for providing credit to members of the minority communities.
The minority vote is being aggressively pursued by the Left parties and the Trinamool Congress, as a swing in the vote away from the Left is believed to be one of the main reasons for the electoral reverses they suffered since the 2008 panchayat elections.
The Trinamool Congress' manifesto states that “the economic and social interests of the minorities shall be taken care of. We will work according to the recommendations of the Sachar Committee's report.” However, Mr. Salim pointed out that it was the pressure of the Left parties that supported the Congress-led UPA government during its first term that led to the formation of the Sachar Committee in the first place.
He said the Trinamool Congress had never raised the issue of its implementation in either the Union cabinet or Parliament. “It has been four years and four months since the findings of the Sachar Committee were made public, and several Groups of Ministers and Groups of Secretaries were formed. But what was recommended by these expert committees was never revealed.”
