In a statement, JIH urged Govt to restrain communal elements
TCN News
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has urged the Government to restrain communal elements promoting hatred and raised concern over reduction in budgetary allocations for the minorities and the education sector.
Addressing the media at its headquarters, JIH Vice President Prof. Mohammad Salim Engineer said that the budgetary allocation for the minorities was quite meagre when compared with the allocation of other marginalized sections of the society. The budget for the minorities department this financial year is Rs. 4810 crores as against the budgetary allocation of Rs. 5029 crores last fiscal. He has described slashing the budgetary allocation for education, which is a highly stressed sector at present, by about 6% in comparison to the financial year-2020-21, as an inappropriate move. “This year the budget was aimed at benefiting the corporate sector, not the common man. It is high time to consider structural changes in the economy by encouraging equity and discouraging debt. Indian economy needs to move towards equity-based finance and an approach that boosts demand,” he added.
Speaking about the budgetary allocations for the health sector, Prof. Salim Engineer said, “The Jamaat had been demanding 6 per cent of the GDP to be allocated for the health sector. However, despite the increase in allocation that we welcome, the overall budget is less than two percent of GDP, which is substantially lower than other major economies. The budgetary allocation for the education sector that was the worst hit during the lockdown owing to Covid-19 pandemic is also quite inadequate.”
Regarding the ongoing farm agitation demanding repeal of the three controversial farm laws, the JIH Vice President said, “The government must end its intransigence on the issue and accept the farmers’ demands as the new farm laws were neither in the interest of the farmers nor the consumers. The corporates will actually benefit from the farm laws. However, he condemned the violence that took place on the Republic Day and blamed the government for the complete mismanagement and failure in maintaining law and order during the rally and its aftermath. He said that some faces behind the Republic Day violence were well-known but they were still roaming free.
Addressing the media on the occasion, JIH Secretary for Community Affairs Malik Moatasim Khan criticised the rallies being taken out to collect funds for Ayodhya Ram Temple. He said, “Certain groups were systematically promoting hate, polarization and violence in the country on the pretext of fund collection for the temple. They target the minority community and want to create division in the society. This was first started in Madhya Pradesh and then moved to Gujarat, UP and now the fund collection drive (yatra) will be taken out in West Bengal to polarize the society on communal lines.” The JIH Secretary informed that a group of prominent citizens and activists recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to rein in the communal elements and ensure that such rallies (yatras) were not taken out in minority areas and no communal and provocative slogans were raised during the fund collection process.