RJD, Trinamool demand salaries for imams of govt-aided mosques

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) With Bihar and West Bengal
Assembly elections in sight, RJD and Trinamool Congress
Saturday demanded implementation of a 17-year-old Supreme
Court order to provide salaries to imams of government-aided
mosques.
"Congress has only indulged in vote ki rajniti
(votebank politics). It only seeks votes from the minorities
but does little for their welfare," Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
chief Lalu Prasad told reporters outside Parliament House.
RJD, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Trinamool Congress had
raised the issue of salaries for imams during Zero Hour.
Prasad said as per the 1993 Supreme Court judgement, a
law was to be framed within six months to provide salary to
imams (clerics) of government-aided mosques and remuneration
to imams of unaided mosques.
"Once we return to power in Bihar, we will implement
the decision in the state," Prasad said.
To a question on some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
members opposing the move, Prasad said, "If they have any
problem, they too can approach the apex court for granting
similar facilities to sadhus and saints."
He also threatened a "mass agitation" if the SC
directives were not implemented at the earliest.
Expressing similar sentiments, Trinamool Congress
leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said his party supported RJD on
the issue as "imams in West Bengal were in a bad state and
facing economic crisis."
He rejected suggestions that TC raised the issue
keeping in mind the coming Assembly elections. "Minorities are
already with Mamata ji...I defeated a Muslim candidate to
reach the Lok Sabha though my constituency has 4 lakh
linguistic minorities," he said.
The TC leader said after Jammu and Kashmir and Assam
states, West Bengal has the maximum number of Muslims in the
country. "They constitute 28 per cent of the state's
population," he said.
In the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament),
government said it would take appropriate action to implement
Supreme Court's observations regarding payment of salaries to
imams of government-aided mosques.
Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee gave the
assurance to the Lok Sabha on a Zero Hour mention made by RJD
chief Lalu Prasad.
Prasad wanted to know the reasons for the delay in
implementation of the 1993 Supreme Court judgement on a
petition of the All India Imams Organisation relating to
salaries of imams in government-aided mosques and remuneration
to clerics in non-aided places of worship.
There was uproar in the House after Minority Affairs
Minister Salman Khurshid spoke of differences among imams on
drawing salaries from the government. PTI