By TCN News,
Patna: The two leading Muslim organizations—Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and Imarat Shariah—urged the union government to make amendments in three crucial pieces of legislation- Right to Education Act, Waqf Bill and Communal Violence Bill.
In a joint press conference on Tuesday, Maulana Anisur Rahman Qasmi, secretary of Imarat Shariah, and Husan Ahmad Qadri, secretary of Jamiat Ulema, Bihar, said that these bills are very crucial for Muslim community but they have clauses that clash with the fundamental rights of the minority community, which is why so there is urgent need to amend and get them passed in this very session.
L-R: Maulana Badr Ahmad Mujibi, Maulana Anisur Rahman Qasmi, Husan Ahmad Qadri and Qaus Siddiqi at the press conference
Qasmi and Qadri pointed out that the main purpose of Right to Education Act (RTE) is to provide education to every citizen of the country but in the present form, it clashes with Article 29 & 30 of Indian Constitution that give right to minority to open and run their own educational institutions. They demanded that the Union Cabinet should make an amendment in the Act to keep religious institutions out of RTE ambit, in the ongoing session of the parliament itself.
On Communal Violence Bill, these leaders said that the drafted bill has many faults that should be corrected before putting it on the Parliament floor. “The bill gives more power to the local police of the area where violence erupts, which will be misused against the minority community as it happened in the past. Therefore, we demand that the bill should make local police responsible for the violence if they fail to control it. The DM and SP of the riot-hit area should be suspended and an independent enquiry should be carried out to check their role during the communal violence,” the leaders demanded.
They termed the amended Waqf Bill as ineffective and toothless. “The New Waqf Bill has nothing especial to protect Waqf properties. “There is a need to come up with a strong Waqf Bill that deals with the Waqf properties like government properties. The bill should make local administration responsible to make Waqf properties free of illegal encroachment then only some positive result will be seen” they said.
These leaders also demanded that religious and educational institutions, charity trusts and welfare societies should be kept out of Direct Tax Code Bill 20110.