U.P.’s lone Muslim Minister says survey will connect madrasas with government schemes

The lone Muslim face in the Uttar Pradesh Government and Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Danish Azad Ansari, on Saturday alleged that Opposition parties in the State were indulging in false propaganda on the ongoing survey of madrasas in the State, and the focus of the survey is to connect madrasas with government welfare schemes.

“No madrasa will be closed or bulldozers used on madrasas. In the survey, there is no talk of bulldozers or closing down madrasas. These propagandas are orchestrated by the opposition as the Muslim community is drawn towards the BJP government,” Mr. Ansari said, speaking to media persons in Barabanki.

“After the survey, we will connect the madrasas with government schemes like ‘ Nai Roshni, Nai Udaan’ of the Minority Welfare Department, and we want students to get exposure to modern and technical education along with religious education,” he said. He further alleged that Opposition parties in the State had used the Muslim community as a vote bank in the past and now, as the community was progressing, “these groups are not likening it”.

‘Malicious’ move

Since the announcement of the madrasa survey, many Muslim groups and Opposition parties have targeted the BJP, alleging that the Yogi Adityanath government was trying to terrorise the Muslim community and the survey was a “malicious” move to disparage the madrasa system.

“The BJP government has an evil intent on madrasas in Uttar Pradesh. The attempts to interfere in private madrasas, which are run with donations from the Muslim community, in the name of a survey, is inappropriate. The government should focus on improving the condition of the government and government-aided madrasas,” Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president and four-time U.P. Chief Minister Mayawati said.

Leading Muslim organisations such as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board have criticised the decision of survey and asked why the same rules do not apply to Hindu religious institutions such as mutts and dharmshalas. The State government has maintained that the survey is being conducted in accordance with the requirements of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and that the government wants to connect the madrasa system with the modern education system.