UNI

New Delhi, Nov 2: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government would help the minorities get jobs both in the public and private sectors as part of UPA's 15- point programme for their welfare.

"We have to provide the minority youth skills which will enable them to get their legitimate share in employment, both in the public sector and in the private sector,'' Dr Singh said in his address at the Annual Conference of State Minority Commissions.

Identifying the main factor responsible for socio-economic backwardness of the minority communities, particularly the Muslims, he said lack of access to the common school system was impeding their development economically.

"This is particularly true in the case of Muslim girls. During the current plan period and the next plan period, we must therefore ensure that concrete schemes for setting up of secondary and higher secondary schools in the Blocks and Districts having predominantly Muslim population are indeed implemented with a sharper focus on the needs of the Muslim girls,'' the Prime Minister said.

Widening of access of the Muslim girls in professional education, particularly medical and engineering courses would be a priority area of educational programmes, he asserted.

Pointing out that the government had already taken a decision to upgrade the status of the National Commission for Minorities to a Constitutional body and a Bill to this effect had been introduced in the Lok Sabha, he hoped that this Bill would be passed in the coming winter session of our Parliament.

The Commission had to be given adequate powers to investigate complaints. Its finances and manpower base would also be expanded to enable it to play a more proactive role for the benefit of the minority communities. The government was also trying to enact a comprehensive legislation to tackle all aspects of communal violence and also to bring out a new Police Act.

Underlining the fact that India did not belong to any single race, least of all to any group of religious extremists, he said it belonged to a mosaic of religiously, linguistically and culturally varied communities and ''we celebrate that diversity.

''Let us create an environment where all Indians can strive for equitable prosperity transcending the religious divide. Let us once again dream as did the great martyrs of Indian freedom movement and work for systematic reconstruction of our multi-racial polity and society,'' he said.

Among those who attended the conference were Human Resource Development Arjun Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay, the Chairperson and Members of the National and State Minority Commissions and other dignitaries.