Mulayam’s panel for madarsas stumps UP Cong

‘‘The state Cabinet has today given approval for setting up the Madarsa Shiksha Parishad, on the pattern of the already existing Sanskrit Vidya Parishad. There are nearly 1,100 madarsas of which 281 are aided by the government. The new Shiksha Parishad will be responsible for holding examinations in these institutes,’’ state Chief Secretary V.K. Mittal said.

The catch is — the Cabinet decision will be sent to Governor T.V. Rajeshwar for his approval to ensure that the move becomes official. The Congress has already incurred the wrath of the minority community members by opposing the setting up of an Urdu University, but now, the party has adopted a cautious approach while responding to today’s Cabinet decision.

‘‘Mulayam is trying to regain his lost political support among Muslims. He is taking all decisions to prove that he is pro-Muslim while in reality all the decisions he is taking will start bearing fruit after three to four years and no wonder that by then the government of day may decide to do away with these,’’ Congress spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

The Congress, this time around, has not appealed to the Governor on today’s Cabinet decision as it did for the Urdu University.

‘‘The Congress has unnecessarily raised objections to some of the measures recently taken by the Mulayam government. Decisions like setting up the Urdu university or forming the federation to streamline madarsa education are bound to benefit Muslims but the Congress has been putting pressure on the Governor to oppose both ordinances,’’ alleged Zafaryab Zilani, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.