For the first time in the history of Karnataka State Wakf Board and Haj Committee or perhaps in a frantic bid to win the confidence of Muslim minority, the BJP government has proposed to nominate women. Haj, Wakf and minority welfare minister Mumtaz Ali Khan said here on Friday: “It’s time we gave representation to women in Wakf Board and Haj Committee, which are dominated by men. There are qualified and willing women. We will create history with this move.” He said the 16-member Wakf Board had two years’ time, while the 11-member Haj Committee had 11 months. The minister said the government was planning to nominate two members each to the board and the committee.
As a first step, he said they will nominate Kausar Ara, a lecturer in a private college, to the Minorities Development Corporation.
For effective functioning of the minorities welfare department, a thinktank with 20 members chosen from various backgrounds has been formed. K V Raju, adviser to chief minister, Abdul Azeez from the Institute of Socio-economic Change and retired judge Justice Farooqi are among the members. The committee will plan and monitor implementation of the programmes of the department, which has received an allocation of Rs 143 crore in the budget.