SC/ST panel chief threatens to stop funding Aligarh Muslim University

New Delhi: Chairperson of the National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commission, Ram Shankar Katheria, has threatened to stop funding Aligarh Muslim University’s if the varsity doesn’t give reservation to Dalits.

Katheria who is also a BJP Member of Parliament from Agra was speaking to reporters at the Aligarh Circuit House on Tuesday, after a meeting with AMU officials.

He warned that he would write to the Ministry of HRD to stop the university’s grant and also threatened to take the matter to court.

It must be noted that Chief Minister Adityanath was the first to demand reservation in AMU.

However, AMU Pro-Vice Chancellor Tabassum Shahab clarified that the university had never followed the policy of reserving seats for Muslims. Rather, it reserves 50 per cent seats for internal students regardless of their religion or caste.

He further maintained that AMU was a minority institution under the AMU Act of 1981, although this status is still pending before the Supreme Court.