Muslim leaders decide to go ahead with AIMPLB conclave with or without Kolkata government nod
Muslim leaders in the city have decided to hold the programme even if they do not get clearance from the government.
Sultan Ahmed, the chairman of AIMPLB organising committee, claimed a solution would be reached on Wednesday.
CONFUSION PREVAILED over the proposed convention of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in Kolkata as the state government is yet to give permission for the three-day meet. Now, Muslim leaders in the city have decided to hold the programme even if they do not get clearance from the government.
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Mohammed Kamruzzaman, general secretary of All Bengal Minority Youth Federation, said: “Over 350 leaders will come to Kolkata for the convention. We had earlier written to the state government seeking permission to hold the delegate session at Madinatul Hujjaj at New Town and the mass meeting at Park Circus Maidan but the state government is yet to give its permission. So, in a meeting yesterday it has been decided that we will go on with the programme as per schedule.” Trinamool MPs such as Sultan Ahmed and Idris Ali were also present at the meeting.
Kamruzzaman added that while the federation had written to both the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the state minority department regarding permission for the venues, they have not received any reply. “Leaders present at the meeting yesterday said while the last AIMPLB convention in Kolkata was held during the Left Front regime at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra and Park Circus ground, the current regime, which appears to be a patron of the minority community, is against us,” he added.
Maulana Niyamat Hossain, president of Milli Ittehad Parishad echoed similar views. “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is befooling Muslims for a long time now. She was never a wellwisher of Muslims. She had learnt communal politics from the BJP, with which she had been in an alliance earlier,” he said. Hossain claimed either Mamata was under pressure from the Centre not to allow the convention or she would give nod to the convention at the last moment and earn brownie points.
When contacted, Sultan Ahmed and Idris Ali said that they were optimistic that the government would give permission for the con. “I am hopeful that the government would relent. I had also suggested that the AIMPLB should be vocal on several issues. For example, it had kept quiet when there was a controversy over Dr Zakir Naik and his TV channel,” Ali said.
Ahmed, also the chairman of AIMPLB organising committee, claimed a solution would be reached on Wednesday. “We will find a solution to it. God willing, the convention will take place here without any trouble,” he said.
Sources said the government would either allow the public meeting at Park Circus Maidan or Mohammedan Sporting Club ground.
Amid a raging debate over Uniform Civil Code and triple talaq in the country, AIMPLB members plan to deliberate on the line of action to be taken over the issues. Describing the twin issues as an “infringement of the personal law and fundamental rights of Muslims”, the AIMPLB said it would give a call for formation of a “secular platform” to counter the BJP and RSS’s “evil designs”.
“The BJP-RSS is trying to infringe into the personal and fundamental rights of Muslims. This will never be tolerated. The upcoming convention will deal with the issues,” Ahmed said. He added that AIMPLB usually sticks to only Muslim personal laws, which broadly cover marriage, talaq, succession and adoption-related issues, but this time it will step beyond its periphery and speak up against religious intolerance in the country.
AIMPLB is an umbrella organisation which has representatives from all Muslim sects, theological schools and religious orders. The body is reportedly the highest decision-making body on Muslim personal laws.
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