Adityanath govt asks madrassas to ferry women to PM's minority interaction event

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked madrassas in Varanasi to make arrangements so that women from the minority community attend an event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would interact with them.

The move, however, evoked protests from a body of madrassa teachers.

In a letter sent to all aided and non-aided madrassas of Varanasi, district minority welfare officer Vijay Pratap Yadav said, “On September 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a ‘Samwaad’ programme with women from the minority community at the DLW auditorium”. The auditorium has a capacity of 700, the letter said.

“On that day, the responsibility of ferrying women audience to the programme venue is assigned to you,” the officer’s letter to the madrassas said. The letter dated September 15 says that the madrassas should ferry around 25 women each to the event.

Reacting to the letter, general secretary of the Teachers’ Association Madaris Arabia, Deewan Sahab Zama, said that the madrassas had been assigned a task that should have been given to BJP workers.

He demanded that the order be withdrawn. The PM is on a two-day visit to Varanasi from September 22.