The Hindu : National : Not asking for more: Antulay

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Thursday, May 11, 2006

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National

Not asking for more: Antulay

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Minority Affairs A.R. Antulay on Wednesday sought to set at rest speculation about being at war with some of his Cabinet colleagues over allocation of business.

Responding to questions on the issue at a press conference here, he said, "My hands are already full. Let me first do what has been assigned to me. There is no question of me asking for more."

In the process of settling into his ministry - with allocation of officials and office space - Mr. Antulay was hopeful of being able to notify Jains as minorities in the near future. Also, according to him, the Ministry would work with the Jammu and Kashmir Government and explore the possibility of declaring Kashmiri Pundits as a minority community.

Taking up cudgels for 300 Kashmiri Pandit teachers working with the Delhi administration, Mr. Antulay has used his office to secure a three-year extension in their services as a step in the direction of getting them regularised. They were absorbed in Delhi administration-run schools in 1994 as migrant contractual teachers and had to seek extension on an annual basis.

Tedious process

Besides being a tedious process, the need to secure extension on a yearly basis generated considerable amount of uncertainty among the migrant teachers, the Minister said.

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