Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia move sinister, says Opposition

Eight Opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamul, Left and JD(U), on Friday jointly condemned attempts by the government to strip Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia of their minority status. They called it a “sinister” move to promote the BJP’s “unholy agenda”.

The statement by the Opposition leaders condemned attorney-general Mukul Rohtagi for his controversial stand, where he reportedly argued against the two institutions’ minority status. A group of Musl-im outfits also accused the government of raking up the minority status issue for electoral gain in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and sought “immediate” reversal of its position. The A-G had advised the government that Jamia Milia Islamia was not a minority institution as it was created by an Act of Parliament, days after he told the SC the legislature never intended AMU to be a minority institution.