Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with memeber of Jain Samaj during their meeting in New Delhi on Sunday

Rahul Gandhi today spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to grant minority status to the Jain community, Congress sources said in New Delhi.They said that the Congress Vice President spoke to Dr Singh soon after a delegation of Jain leaders led by Union Minister Pradeep Jain had met him today to seek his support for the notification of Jains as a minority community at the national level.Earlier, AICC had said in a release that Jain Samaj leaders had spoken to Mr Gandhi about their long-pending demand for minority status for the community and urged him to support their cause.

"Rahul recognised the role played by the Jain community in the social, cultural and economic development of the country. He assured the delegation that he would do his utmost to ensure fair and equitable recognition and representation for the Jain community," the release said.The delegation told Mr Gandhi that awarding of national minority status would help the community access central funds meant for welfare programmes and scholarships for minorities.