Muslim cleric body to hit streets

The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, a wide-reaching body of Muslim clerics, will launch a countrywide agitation to pressure the UPA government on key demands, including changes to the proposed communal violence legislation.

The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, a wide-reaching body of Muslim clerics, will launch a countrywide agitation to pressure the UPA government on key demands, including changes to the proposed communal violence legislation.

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“The Bill in its present form will be inconsequential in controlling such clashes, which kill thousands. We want responsibility fixed on police and district administration,” Jamiat leader Mahmood Madni, a Rajya Sabha MP, said.

The Jamiat will also demand reservation in jobs and education, a signature demand of several Muslim organisations. The agitation will roll out from Kolkata on May 3

Once unwavering in its support for the Congress, the Jamiat now shares an unstable relationship with the party.

Madni, who figures in a Georgetown University list of 500 most influential Muslims, can still swing elections with his massive following. Jamiat has used its massive demonstrations in the past to bargain deals.

Many are watching Madni’s political moves after he wrested control over the organisation following a power struggle with uncle Arshad, who recently lost a bid to win a Rajya Sabha nomination to songwriter Javed Akhtar.