This is what Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Wednesday at the Milan Mela — organised jointly by the West Bengal Minorities Development & Finance Corporation and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Admitting that the Sachar Committee report had showed that Muslims in the state as well as the country were disadvantaged, Bhattacharjee stressed on the need for equal opportunities in the fields of education, employment and professional training for development of backward people.

Recently, at another programme organised by the KMC, the chief minister had said he was not sure whether reservations alone will benefit the minorities.

Through successful implementation of land reforms, the state government had distributed around 11 lakh hectares of which 22 per cent was for the Muslims.

“Attempts will now be made to include Muslims who are employed in tanneries and manufacturing of leather goods in the other backward class categories,” Bhattacharjee said.

“The Ranganathan Committee report has already suggested a 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and five per cent for other minorities. That is a prescription for the minorities’ problem,” he said.