In berating the government's circular, the BJP chose to conveniently forget that the order allowing the one-hour relaxation in entry and exit timings for Muslim staff during Ramadan was, in fact, passed in December 2000.
Team Clarion
PATNA — Bihar’s Grand Alliance government’s decision to relax duty hours for Muslim employees during the holy month of Ramadan has not gone down well with the BJP. Reacting strongly to the government’s Friday circular in this regard, state BJP chief, Sanjay Jaiswal, asked if Muslims could get this concession, why can’t Hindus be extended similar facilities during Ramnavami?
He also accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of trying to turn Bihar into an ‘Islamic State’.
He said the Ramnavami festival would start in the next few days and Hindus have to make preparations for it both in the morning and in the evening hours.
Ramnavami this year falls on March 30. Ramadan is tentatively set to begin on March 22.
In berating the government’s circular, the BJP chose to conveniently forget that the order allowing the one-hour relaxation in entry and exit timings for Muslim staff during Ramadan was, in fact, passed in December 2000.
The circular issued on Friday read: “Keeping in view the convenience of Muslim employees and officials, the government grants them permission to come and leave the office one hour before the scheduled time during Ramadan”.
Jaiswal asked whether it was for the first time that such relaxation is being given to Muslim public sector employees by the state government. “It is clear that the Bihar government is virtually following the path of the radical Islamic organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI). A separate rule for Muslims only shows how some offices are working like agents of PFI,” he added.
“For any government, an employee is just an employee, he is not Hindu, Muslim, or Christian. Both Nitish and Tejashwi are implementing the agenda of PFI only,” he remarked.
Hitting back at the BJP for demanding concessions for Ramnavami, the president of the Bihar unit of the Congress said that Nitish Kumar government must have taken the relaxation decision on the basis of a representation by some people.
He said that the work at the government would also not be affected due to the change in the office timings. “Where is the problem? The BJP is unnecessarily creating a hullabaloo,” he said.
