Digvijay Singh, the Congress Party leader in Madhya Pradesh, has praised Christians for providing quality education in the state and urged the Muslim community to do the same.
More than 95 percent of Christians are educated and everyone must learn from them, he told guests at a Muslim education society function yesterday in the state capital Bhopal.
The former state chief minister said Muslims, like Christians, must provide quality education so that they can improve their quality of life.
Singh, who held the top government post in the state for over a decade, also pledged his support to the minority community in their endeavors to protect their rights. “I will be with you in your fight,” he told them.
Meanwhile, Father Anand Muttungal, the Catholic Church’s spokesman in Madhya Pradesh, was congratulated by the Muslim gathering for his contributions in protecting the rights of minorities.
Recently, he has been dealing with what the Church says is state interference in the administration of Catholic run educational institutions.
Former chairman of the State Minority Commission and state president of the Muslim Education Society, Ibrahim Qureshi lauded the priest for his “fearless fight to restore the rights of minorities.”
Father Muttungal in his address said Muslims should also focus on providing quality education of a general nature rather than concentrating on religious education.
“Unless minorities unite and fight for their rights they will be ignored, no matter how legitimate their grievances are,” he said.
At the end of the function Digvijay Singh was given a document asking for his help on several rights issues plaguing state minority groups.
He promised to take them up with the federal government.
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