The joint statement, signed by Pramod Tiwari of the Congress, K.C.
The joint statement, signed by Pramod Tiwari of the Congress, K.C. Tyagi of JD(U), Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of TMC, among others, said they would launch a signature campaign and approach President Pranab Mukherjee on the government’s decision to strip Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia of their minority status. They also said their parties would raise the matter in Parliament in the coming Budget Session.
The MPs of eight parties who issued the joint statement belonged to the Congress, TMC, JD(U), RJD, NCP, CPI, CPI(M) and AAP. They said they “strongly condemn” and express their displeasure and deep concern against the “nasty” move by the Central government to “strip” AMU and Jamia of their minority status.
“We condemn the statement of the attorney-general of India, who has blatantly tried to outrage the rich tradition of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb by mentioning before the Supreme Court that these two institutions are not minority institutions,” the joint statement said. The other signatories are D.P. Tripathi of NCP, D. Raja (CPI), Jay Prakash Yadav (RJD), Bhagwant Mann (AAP) and Ritabrata Banerjee (CPI-M).
The BJP brushed aside criticism of the Centre’s stand on Aligarh Muslim University, saying the government was only performing its constitutional duties in maintaining that it was not a minority institution and that in court it was only reiterating a stand taken by previous governments.
The BJP noted that AMU is cited in the Constitution as a public institution, and made a reference to previous discussions in Parliament to drive home the point that senior Congress leaders, former ministers and Prime Ministers had maintained such institutions are not minority institutions.
The ruling party said “emotionalism” on the issue was being used and an attempt was being made to “mislead the people”.
