Former IPS officer from Punjab, Iqbal Singh Lalpura has been appointed the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities, sources said on Wednesday.
Lalpura is also the national spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party from Punjab.
The present National Commission for Minorities Chairperson is Ghayorul Hasan.
On August 13, the Delhi High Court extended the deadline given to the Centre to nominate persons to all the vacant positions in the National Commission for Minorities by two months.
Justice Rekha Palli said the process, which was earlier directed to be concluded by July 31, be completed by September 30.
The High Court's decision came after the Centre made a plea to extend the deadline by a period of three months.
Also, earlier, while the monsoon session was in place, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on August 2 said, "The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has informed that the erstwhile Minority Commission in its Annual Reports for the period January 1, 1981 to March 31, 1982 and April 1, 1982 to March 31, 1983 had recommended for setting up of a Committee to consider the need for considering and, if necessary, to formulate a scheme to establish a National Integration-cum-Human Rights Commission for promotion of secular traditions and national integration."
The Union Government had set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Initially five religious communities, viz., Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were notified as minority communities by the Union Government. Further, on January 27, 2014, Jains were also notified as another minority community.
Union Government constituted National Commission for Minorities in New Delhi and the State Governments constituted State Minorities Commissions in their respective State Capitals. These organisations are set-up to safeguard and protect the interests of minorities as provided in the Constitution of India and laws enacted by the Parliament and the State Legislatures.
( With inputs from ANI )
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