Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursdaysaid the term minority doesn’t denote only Muslims and that there are fiveother notified minorities: Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Sikhs.
Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha, theMinister said the government in last five year had connected 308 minoritydistricts under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram’ (PMJVK) scheme whichwere limited to 90 districts in the UPA government.
“Over 870 blocks, 321 towns and 109 districtheadquarters have been connected with PMJVK scheme. There is not a singledistrict where this scheme is not benefiting minorities,” Naqvi said.
The Minister said over three crore notified minorities hadgot scholarships under the scheme.
“Our commitment is empowerment without appeasement anddevelopment with dignity,” he said.