New Delhi, February 11 Rajya Sabha member P Wilson of the DMK on Wednesday urged the government to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Minorities and strengthen its investigative and enforcement powers to better protect the interests of minority communities.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Wilson thanked the Chair for allowing him to speak on a matter that is central to the Constitution.
"In recent years, India has witnessed a disturbing escalation in targeted violence against minority communities. This includes mob lynching, attacks on pastors and priests, and the systematic vandalism of churches and mosques," he said, citing data to support his argument.
He further stated that anti-conversion laws are increasingly misused in some states to file multiple FIRs, even against minors.
"People are arrested and kept in jail for months, only to be acquitted later," the DMK MP said.
He said that since 2020, nearly 400 cases have been registered under anti-conversion laws, leading to the arrest of 1,200 individuals.
"This strikes at the very heart of the constitutional promise of equality, secularism, and religious freedom. And at a time when minorities need institutional protection the most, the National Commission for Minorities, the body meant to act as a sentinel of justice, has been reduced to an empty office building," he said.
He highlighted that the positions of chairperson, vice-chairperson, and all members are currently vacant.
The DMK MP further stated that these vacancies have persisted for over 10 months, and in some cases, for more than 3 years.
"This sends a chilling message that minority constitutional safeguards can be left unaddressed indefinitely," he added.
He further stated that in 2017-18, the parliamentary standing committee on social justice and empowerment described the commission as most ineffective in addressing discrimination, marginalisation, and violence, and it recommended granting constitutional status to the National Commission for Minorities without delay.
Wilson said that currently, the commission's powers are merely advisory. He also said that a former chairperson described the commission as a "toothless tiger" because it has only recommendatory powers.
"Instead of strengthening the commission, the government has allowed it to collapse entirely. I urge the honourable minister for minority affairs to fill the vacancies in the commission immediately," he said.
The DMK member urged the Union government to amend both the Constitution of India and the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, and make it a constitutional body.
He asked the government to define atrocities against minorities as criminal offences and empower the commission to issue directions to register cases and strengthen its investigative and enforcement powers to better protect the interests of minority communities.