Mamata announces Rs.1,000 for muezzins
May 2nd, 2012 - 10:03 pm ICT by IANS
Kolkata, May 2 (IANS) Continuing to rain sops on the minorities, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday announced Rs.1,000 monthly honorarium for muezzins of mosques.
She also included 33 more classes from among the minorities in the 17 percent quota earmarked for Other Backward Classes.
“The muezzins who lead the call to prayers and help out in other socio-economic activities like administering polio drops are very poor,” she told reporters. “So the cabinet has given the go-ahead for a Rs.1,000 honorarium per month through the Waqf Board.”
She said the cabinet also cleared a proposal for reservation of jobs for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes category.
“The previous (Left Front) government passed a bill hurriedly before last year’s assembly polls without undertaking any survey… We have now finalised things after conducting a sample survey,” she said.
Banerjee said earlier 65 classes of minorities were included in the OBC list. “Today we have decided to add 33 more.”
Last month, the chief minister announced a monthly honorarium of Rs.2,500 to Imams to be paid through the Waqf Board.
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- No religion-based reservation, says Mamata - May 18, 2012
- Honorarium to imams not a populist move, says Mamata - Jun 05, 2012
- Banerjee announces sops for Muslims, honorarium for Imams - Apr 03, 2012
- Mamata announces sops for Muslims - Jul 30, 2011
- Court refuses to stay honorarium to Imams - May 04, 2012
- Court refuses to stay honorarium to Imams (Lead) - May 04, 2012
- Bengal passes bill on 17 percent OBC reservation - Jul 06, 2012
- Highlights of Delhi budget - May 29, 2012
- Pay honorarium to priests, not just imams: VHP to Mamata - Apr 20, 2012
- Government files documents on minority sub-quota plea - Jun 12, 2012
- Government mulling quota for Muslims within OBCs: Salman Khurshid (Lead) - Dec 01, 2011
- Court quashes 4.5 percent sub-quota for minorities (Lead) - May 28, 2012
- Cabinet approves minority quota (Lead) - Dec 22, 2011
- Cabinet approves minority quota (Second Lead, superseding earlier story) - Dec 22, 2011
Tags: assembly polls, chief minister, economic activities, honorarium, jobs, kolkata, mamata banerjee, minorities, mosques, muezzins, muslims, polio, prayers, proposal, quota, rs 2, sample survey, sops, west bengal