The CM had said a committee comprising representatives of the minorities department, the Backwards Class Welfare (BCW) department, the Minorities Commission and the BCW Commission would be formed to implement the government’s plan. “We have not yet received any notification. We are totally in the dark on how to go about it,” B P Gopalika, Secretary, Department of Minorities Development, said.

The Minorities Commission ,too, is yet to receive any government notification. “I think the government is still working on the modalities. We are still waiting for a circular,” S Z Adnan, chairman, West Bengal Minorities Commission, said.

According to a source at the minorities department, the government’s biggest worry is the court since the Andhra Pradesh HC has already quashed a state government order for reservation of four per cent in government jobs for Muslims. Meanwhile, state Minister for Land and Land Reforms Abdur Rezzaq Mollah, who is a bitter critic of the chief minister, said he had reservations whether Bhattacharjee would be able to implement his plan. “The chief minister has pious intentions and I have full support for him. But I have doubts whether he will be successful in the long run,” he said. According to a Muslim minister in the state cabinet, the best way to help the poor Muslims is to provide them with loans on easy terms.