Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said “action will be taken” against those engaging in “anti-national activities” under the pretext of education. The Deputy CM’s comments came amid a buzz of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) allegedly identifying thousands of “illegal” madrasas across the State. Sources claim that the SIT report, which has not been made public as yet, might recommend closure of madrasas which were unable to verify the source of foreign funding.
“I haven’t seen the report. If there are activities against the country under the guise of education, then investigation will be done and action will be taken against the culprits. Those who do good work will be protected and appreciated by the government,” Mr. Maurya told mediapersons.
Opposition parties in the State have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is busy spreading false propaganda over the madrasas in Uttar Pradesh.
“Every time the BJP comes to power propaganda is unleashed to disparage madrasa education. If some [madrasa] has engaged in an unlawful act, action must be taken. No one is stopping the government. But what they are doing is spreading propaganda to polarise the society. The BJP should firstly share their funding details,” Shahnawaz Alam, president of the U.P. Congress’s minority wing, said.
Madrasa in U.P. have remained in the news ever since the State government announced a ‘survey’ to map unrecognised madrasas in mid 2022. In the survey, 8,496 madrasas were found to be unrecognised. Many Muslim groups and Opposition parties targeted the State government, alleging that the government is trying to terrorise the Muslim community. It is also being suggested that the survey is a “malicious” in intent and meant to disparage the madrasa education system.
The U.P. government categorically denied these allegations and said that it wants to connect the madrasa system with modern pedagogical systems. The government added that the survey was conducted as per the requirements of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
