PATNA: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Friday announced that priority would be given to Muslims in appointments in all sectors of the Railways.

Addressing the 52nd Railway Week function of the East Central Railway after giving away awards to employees and different divisions for their contributions, Mr. Prasad declared his intention to write to the General Managers, recruiting agencies and all concerned to give priority to Muslims in appointments.

He was concerned that only 30,000 of the 14 lakh employees were Muslims and most of them held petty posts. Since Muslims comprised 18 per cent of the population, they would be given due preference, be it in the recruitment for the Railway Protection Force (RPF) or other categories.

The Minister said that "injustice" had to be corrected. There was nothing to hide and the Union Government was committed towards this end. He warned of action in case of any bias on this count. There was no reason to suspect their (Muslims') patriotism.

Mr. Prasad underlined their sacrifices in the wars with Pakistan and the valour and bravery they displayed as soldiers.

The Minister said that the backlog for SC/ST and the OBCs would be cleared at the earliest and these categories too would be given preference.

He criticised the move of the erstwhile NDA Government to cut posts and retrench employees following the recommendations of the Rakesh Mohan Committee. "That was a dangerous move, particularly in a country like India. Any officer making such suggestions would be dealt with [sternly]," he warned.

`A diamond'

Mr. Prasad hoped that officials would display vision in projecting the Railways' needs in the days to come. "We have to keep moving. The Railways is a diamond. Without the development of the Railways the projected growth of the country was not possible."

He also talked about restoring the right of the employee's ward to serve the Railways.

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