By Muslim Mirror Staff
Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that all government-run madrassas will be closed in the state becuase religious education cannot be allowed with public money. However, he justified the continuation of religious education in Sanskrit ‘tols’ with government funds, Times of India reported.
“The Sanksrit tol matter was different,” he said, “The objection to government-run Sanksrit tols is that they are not transparent. We are taking steps to address this,” he added.
Biswa said that official notification will be issued to shut down all the government-sponsored madrassa next month.
AIUDF supremo and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal took strong note of Biswa’s statement saying that if the BJP-led state government closes down government-run madrassas, his party would re-open them after coming to power in the assembly elections scheduled early next year.
“You cannot shut madrassas. After we come to power, we will take a cabinet decision to reopen these 50-60-year-old madrassas if this present government closes them forcibly,” said Ajmal.
Two years ago, the state government had scrapped the two controlling boards — State Madrassa Education Board and Assam Sanskrit Board — and brought the madrassas under the Secondary Board of Education Assam (Seba) and the Sanskrit tols under Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University to introduce modern education to learners to bring them into the mainstream.
What took BJP so long to close them? Were they sleeping all this time? How long they are in government? Do they have to take such decisions only hen elections come?