The body of Muslim clerics dominated by the Deobandi Sunnis also accused the Congress for threatening to subvert the autonomy of the local madrasa by setting up a national madrasa board.

At a convention against terrorism and communalism, national president of Jamiat Maulana Arshad Madani particularly lashed out at HRD Minister Arjun Singh and former Home Minister Shivraj Patil. He equated the Congress with the Sangh Parivar. State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was present on the occasion, said she would convey Maulana Madni’s views to the party leadership.

The Jamiat also invited state BSP president Swami Prasad Maurya and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son Akhilesh Yadav, but neither turned up. “What harm the RSS could not inflict on the Muslims in 60 years, former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil did it in a short span of four years,” said Madani.

He said the forces working to convert the country into a “Hindu Rashtra” were out to destroy democracy and secularism in the country. “Sardar Patel was the greatest votary of the Hindu Rashtra and he signed the documents for the partition of the country,” he said.

“It was the Muslims of the country and Jamiat in particular, who had opposed the partition on basis of the two-nation theory and fought for secularism,” he added.

Speaking on the Batla House encounter, Maulana Madani said: “Why is the government sitting on the demand for a judicial inquiry into the incident? Is it because the demand is being raised by Muslims?” He alleged that educated Muslim youths were being framed in false charges of terror.

Regarding the madrasa board, Madani said: “Muslims will never accept this as it is an attempt of the government to control the institutions imparting religious education.” If a madrasa board is constituted by the Congress government, it will be a board of the Congress, but run, controlled and managed by the Sangh Parivar, he said.

“HRD minister Arjun Singh assured me that after the constitution of the madrasa board, there will be no effect on madrasa autonomy. But is there any guarantee that after the Lok Sabha polls the UPA will return to power?” he added. “If the UPA government is so keen on eradicating the educational backwardness of Muslims, it should open vocational institutions like engineering, medical and management colleges exclusively for Muslims,” said Madani.