Shia Board mulls action against non-registered madarsas
THE BOARD CHAIRMAN HAS NO IDEA HOW MANY MADRASAS RUN ON WAQF PROPERTIES
LUCKNOW: The UP Shia Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) has removed 25 ‘muttawallis’ (caretakers) on charges of irregularities and decided to constitute a panel that will submit a report on madarsas being run on waqf properties.
“These district-wise committees will carry out a survey and find out whether the madarsas being operated on waqf properties are registered or not. Action will be taken against non-registered madarsas,” said Board’s chairman Waseem Rizvi.
Rizvi, who has been the chairman of the Shia board for close to a decade now and hit the headlines for his controversial ‘some madarsas breed terrorists’ remarks, however, has no idea how many madrasas run on waqf properties.
“I have no data on the number of these madarsas, either registered or non-registered. We also don’t know what is being taught in these institutions,” he said adding that it was one of the reasons for setting up the probe panel to ascertain their numbers.
On the removal of 25 out of the total 71 caretakers, the Board chairman said there were complaints against them and the board was not satisfied with their performance. The tenure of the remaining 46 caretakers was extended for another three years. The decision, he said, was taken at a meeting of the board here on Thursday.
The UPSCWB manages around 7,000 waqf properties and has now also staked its claim to the disputed site in Ayodhya. The Board has filed an affidavit in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janam Bhoomi case in the Supreme Court stating that was in favour of a construction of Ram Temple Mandir at the dispute site. The mosque can be built elsewhere in Ayodhya, according to it.
“I have just come back from Ayodhya. I visited the disputed site and met ‘mahants’ and other leaders associated with the temple movement,” he said.
The apex court is all set to start hearing in the case from February 8. Rizvi said he had held discussions with almost all the parties to the dispute, except Sunni Central Waqf Board, and that he would be hiring a senior lawyer to represent UPSCWB in the case once the hearing commenced.