Congress leader writes to Sonia Gandhi about party ignoring interests of Muslims
Correspondent
NewsBits.in
BHOPAL: Congress leader Akbar Beg has sent a missive to party chief Sonia Gandhi, complaining about the apathy of the party's state unit towards issues concerning Muslim community.
Beg has said that for 15 months Congress was in power but there was no step taken in favour of the community, and now when Kamal Nath demands a package for temple priests but it doesn't mention any other religion or making a similar demand about Imams-Muezzins.
"The Muslim community supported Congress in the state and this was the reason that Congress came back to power in Madhya Pradesh. But the community was consistently ignored. In fact, every step and action is taken to weaken the spirit of secularism", he mentions.
Interestingly, now the state government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 8 crore for temple priests now. The priests had demanded that as temples were shut and there was no 'chadhava', they needed financial support.
In a separate letter, Beg has written to Chouhan that he must think about all sections and communities. "The person who is on the chair does not belong to one community. The Imams-Muezzins who don't salary from Waqf Board or Masajid Committee should be given the assistance.
Their income was dependent on the collection by the devotees and with mosques shut and people praying at homes, the Imams and Muezzins too are suffering. Also, there are power and water bills should be waived. Beg said that similar steps should be taken for Christian, Sikh and other communities too.