Saturday, January 7 2006 17:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhopal: Fresh efforts would be made to accord minority status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the wake of the Allahabad High Court rejecting Centre's plea for restoring the status, Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said here today (Jan 7, 2006).

"I have not yet studied and examined the judgement of the Allahabad High Court. But efforts will be made to accord minority status to AMU," Singh, who was on a day-long visit to the city, told reporters at the state Congress office here.

"During electioneering for the 1980 general elections in which Congress emerged victorious, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had promised that AMU would be given minority status," he said.

"Subsequently, though the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act was also passed in Parliament to accord the status of minority institution to the University, it could not be implemented due to some reasons," Singh said.

On phone-tapping episode, he described as 'irresponsible' the remarks made by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh about Congress President Sonia Gandhi saying none can imagine her involvement in it.

"Phone tapping is definitely bad and not good, though it can be carried out legally only in the country's interest," he said.

About giving responsibility in the party to Rahul Gandhi, Singh said both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi know what should be done when according to necessities. "It is not for us to decide," he said.