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Journalism of Courage
Just as AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal announced the Pujari Granthi Samman Scheme at the party headquarters, promising Rs 18,000 a month to pandits working in temples and granthis in gurdwaras if the party returns to power in next year’s Assembly polls, a protest by the All India Imam Association (AIIA) broke out at his residence.
Sajid Rashidi, AIIA chairman, claimed the AAP government has not released funds to the Delhi Waqf Board to pay salaries to imams and maulvis for the last 17 months despite several requests. “And now they announce a scheme for pujaris and granthis… as polls are nearing. What about us? Don’t you care about the Muslim voters who elected you?…”
Rashidi said salaries to imams have been given by the government since 1970 through the waqf board; at present, there are around 240 imams in the city under the board.
“Imams have been running around… We met Chief Minister Atishi, the Lieutenant Governor, and senior and junior officers concerned for the past six months and we are yet to get our salaries… You are now making hollow promises to pujaris and granthis… How will you pay them? It means you have money to pay them and not us… Musalamno ko chhod di aapne… Humara vote nahi chahiye ya maina nahi rakhta aapko (You have abandoned Muslims. Either you don’t want our votes or our votes don’t mean anything to you),” alleged Rashidi.
AIIA also gave an ultimatum to the AAP government to release their salaries in two days, else imams will sit on an indefinite protest outside Kejriwal’s residence. Delhi government sources, however, said instructions to clear the backlog of salaries were issued two days ago. “We have faced problems with disbursal of funds for several schemes because of differences of opinion with the bureaucracy. But the salaries of imams should be cleared soon,” an official said.
Rashidi also alleged that the imam association has been trying to meet Kejriwal but he did not make time: “We first went to meet Kejriwal last Thursday to no avail… Officials gave us time to come on Saturday but he did not meet us that day either… We even visited his house but were not allowed to meet him.”
Expressing dissatisfaction and anger towards the AAP government, Rashidi said, “There is a good percentage of Muslim voters in Delhi. Non-payment of salaries to imams will not go down well with the community…”
The association also criticised the other poll promises of AAP such as the Mahila Samman Rashi Yoajana and Sanjeevani Yojana. “You are announcing these schemes and your government is disowning them… Release salaries under already implemented schemes before the polls so that the public can believe your promises…,” he said.
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