NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday attacked the decision of the BJP-led Central government to provide scholarships to five crore Muslim students.
“The Muslim scholarship is being publicised by the government with great fanfare. AAP welcomes the fact that the NDA government’s attention has been drawn to Muslim students. But the question is why discriminate between students on religious grounds? How is this different from the appeasement politics that the BJP used to accuse the Congress of indulging in?” said AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
Singh said that the “divisive language used by BJP leaders during the election campaign and their behaviour post-election reeks of hypocrisy”.The Centre has announced that it will provide scholarships to five crore students belonging to the minority community over the next five years. Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the government measure was aimed at lowering the dropout rate of girl students of the minority community. The scholarships will be provided through various mediums, including Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which, Naqvi said, will provide 10 lakh scholarships.
“Aam Aadmi Party demands that all students, regardless of the community they belong to, should be given scholarships for education. Such schemes should not be based on religious grounds alone. We all remember the kind of language used by the prime minister, the party and their leaders in the run-up to the elections against minorities in the country. The sharp distinction between then and now is clearly visible to the people of the country,” added Singh.
AAP assures lensman’s family of justice
The Aam Aadmi Party government, which came under fire for not fulfilling promises made to the family of a photographer who was murdered last year, stated that special prosecutors Rebecca John and Vishal Gossain had been appointed by the government to argue the case.
“We are confident that both lawyers will fight the case strongly on behalf of the state and are hopeful of the strictest possible punishment for the accused. The government is firm in its resolve to ensure the strictest punishment to the accused,” said AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj.
Assuring the family of a speedier response from the party and the government in future, Bhardwaj, who also spoke to the photographer’s father, Yashpal Saxena, said that “the procedure to disburse the promised compensation of J5 lakh has been expedited. I am committed to being personally available for the family during the process of bringing the accused to justice”.