LUCKNOW: The demolition notice to Jauhar University by the Rampur District Administration (RDA) has triggered criticism from Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which accused the ruling BJP-led dispensation and also the Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav of acting in collusion to bring down the minority institution.
“Samajwadi Party government left a loophole during its construction and using that as a premise, the current BJP dispensation is bent on destroying it, and this is being done with Akhilesh Yadav’s full agreement,” said AIMIM spokesperson Shadab Chauhan.
He accused Akhilesh Yadav of being complicit with the BJP government and staying mum on many issues pertaining to the minority community. He alleged that the SP supremo never stood up for minorities and their rights and rather used the Muslim community as a mere “vote bank”.
The AIMIM leader said the university’s demolition was deliberately timed to coincide with Akhilesh Yadav’s foreign trip so that the latter could escape blame.
“All of this is happening with Akhilesh Yadav's collusion. I hear he is abroad, and therefore his party won't launch any agitation despite a strength of 100 legislators in the Assembly,” he said.
He further claimed that whenever atrocities are committed against minorities in the state, Akhilesh and his partymen never issue any statement nor protest against the atrocities.
“Whether it is encounter, mob lynching or bulldozer action, the Samajwadi Party, despite having a sizeable number of MPs and MLAs, has never emboldened the voice of minorities,” he remarked.
“For him, Muslims are nothing more than a vote bank,” he added.
The row over Rampur’s Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University erupted on Wednesday after the Rampur district administration (RDA) issued a demolition order against 38 out of 40 structures in the University, founded by Azam Khan, after concluding that they were built without approved building plans.
The AIMIM spokesperson said that the notice for razing buildings at Jauhar University constitutes a major attack on the minority community and questioned why there was silence over the alleged connivance and culpability of authorities and officials.
“Shouldn't action be taken against the officials who were in charge when the buildings were constructed?” he asked.
He said that the BJP government was working to destroy the university in collusion with Akhilesh Yadav and questioned the government's intent to demolish the existing minority educational institutions when it was not able to create new ones and also asked whether it was in sync with the government’s own ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ pledge.
--IANS
