UP BJP to hold convention over unrecognised madrasas

Lucknow, Sep 8 (IANS) The BJP in Uttar Pradesh, now on the path of course correction, has decided to hold a convention to address the apprehension of unrecognised madrasas that are to be surveyed by the Yogi Adityanath government.

The move comes after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JuH) led by several Islamic clerics, held a meeting in Delhi, and termed the Yogi government's step as an attempt to disparage the education system.

The JuH also announced to launch a helpline for madrasas in case they encounter any problem.

There are a total of 16,461 madrasas in the state at present, of which 560 get government subsidies.

BJP sources said that the party had asked its minority wing to invite the representatives of unrecognised madrasas for a discussion regarding the state government's order which is aimed at gathering information on the number of teachers, curriculum, basic facilities like drinking water, furniture, electricity supply, and toilet, etc available there and their affiliation with any non-government organisations.

President of the state's BJP Minority Morcha, Kunwar Basit Ali, said that the idea of the convention will be to reach out to the madrasa community and tell them about the broad benevolent aspects and objectives of the survey.

"We expect a positive outcome from the exercise," he said.

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Danish Azad Ansari, has said that the survey would be conducted as per the requirements of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which wanted to check the basic facilities being provided to students in madrasas.

The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had also questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to conduct the survey of unrecognised madrasas, saying said that it was deliberately targeting minority institutions.

Opposition parties like the AIMIM have termed the survey as a "Mini-NRC" (National Register of Citizens) and said the state government has no right to interfere in the functioning of madrasas under Article 30 of the Constitution.

BJP sources said that the party received the feedback that the decision to conduct the survey did not go down well with the Muslim community.