Muslims appeal to President against religious bill

Muslims appeal to President against religious bill
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3: Prominent Muslim leaders today made a impassioned appeal to President K R Narayanan to withhold assent to the controversial UP Regulation of Public Religious Buildings and Places Bill as ``it is aimed to muzzle the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution''.

In a memorandum submitted to the President, Naib Imam of Jamamasjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Jaweed Habib, Prof Akhtar Wasey, director Islamic Studies of Jamia Millia and Rahat Mahmood, chairman Janata Dal Minorities Cell, said the bill was against the spirit of the Constitution and would harm the interests of the minorities.

``The promulgation of the Bill will not only put hurdles in the Constitution and extension of new religious places of worship and centres of education, but would throttle religious institutions as well.''

The Muslim leaders said the Bill empowers the district magistrate to earmark the site where the religious institution would be constructed.

They said the idea behind the Bill was to deprive the minorities of their Constitutional rights.

The other signatories to the memorandum are M Afzal, former MP, Maulana Nawabuddin Naqashbandi, Z K Faizan, Wasim Ahmed Ghazi, Dr Shahid Pervez and Hamid Hussain Khizir.