Mulayam draws up a Friday timetable

Under pressure to prove his secular credentials and keep his coalition afloat before elections, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has gone ...

Under pressure to prove his secular credentials and keep his coalition afloat before elections, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has gone to another extreme. His government has ordered all Uttar Pradesh board schools and intermediate colleges to close for the day by noon every Friday.

But this order has already become a talking point in the run-up to the polls. The BJP has been quick on the draw, attacking the government for 8216;8216;giving education a communal colour by passing an order to help Muslims offer namaz.8217;8217;

Several Muslim community leaders have strongly criticised this move calling it tokenism for political purposes. When contacted, Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Farooqi said: 8216;8216;This posturing isn8217;t going to help us8230;we need more schools, not an order that will be used by communal forces to attack us.8217;8217;

Said ex-MP Syed Shahabuddin: 8216;8216;Nobody asked for it. You can always offer namaz during lunch break. His Mulayam8217;s motive is political.8217;8217;

The state government order, issued on Monday, gave no reason but directed all government schools and colleges affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh board to conduct teaching work only till 12 noon every Friday. The BJP alleged that it is a 8216;8216;politically motivated8217;8217; move to woo Muslim voters ahead of the polls.Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Vinay Katiyar charged the Mulayam Singh government with 8216;8216;communalising education8217;8217; and demanded similar relaxation on Tuesdays to 8216;8216;help Hindus offer prayers in temples.8217;8217;

A section of Muslim clerics have backed the government decision.

8216;8216;If the move is aimed at helping Muslims fulfil their religious obligations, we welcome it,8217;8217; said Sunni cleric Sajjad Nomani.

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But leading Shia scholar Kalbe Jawwad, however, said it would have been better had the government had only given a one-hour relaxation to Muslim government employees to help them offer prayers.

8216;8216;This decision will not serve much purpose as students of these classes are not very regular with their Friday prayers,8217;8217; Jawwad pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Students League has demanded that the order be made applicable up to the university level.

According to League8217;s R A Ahmed, this is the practice is prevalent in the Aligarh Muslim University.