Shiromani Akali Dal slams Centre for ending scholarships for minority students

Chandigarh February 4

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned the NDA government’s decision to end minority scholarships for PhD as well as pre-matric students and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the schemes immediately.

Senior Akali leader Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema said the government‘s decision to end the Maulana Azad National Fellowship scheme for PhD and MPhil students which gave eligible candidates a sum of Rs 32,000 to Rs 35,000 per month to pursue doctorate, was a blow to efforts to raise the education standards of minorities.

He said the decision to end the pre-matric scholarship scheme, which was aimed at raising the education levels at the preliminary stage of school education, had hurt minority interests.

“So has the discontinuation of the Padho Pardesh scheme for minorities which offered them an interest subsidy for loans taken for foreign education.”

Urging the Prime Minister to review the “anti-minority decisions”, Dr Cheema said they were discriminatory in nature and against the spirit of the Constitution.

The SAD leader expressed shock at the manner in which the National Minority Commission had maintained silence on the important issue. “The commission should understand that it is mandated by the Constitution to serve the interests of the minority communities and not any political party. It should accordingly demand revocation of this anti- minority decision immediately,” he added.

Meanwhile, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said the scholarships under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and Pre-Matric Scholarship, discontinued last year, should be resumed at the earliest. He said if the government’s working style towards the minorities remains indifferent, it would create distrust.