VHP for scrapping minorities' panel; its chief says bridging gaps

The VHP on Tuesday accused National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chair Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi of fanning separatism and demanded its scrapping, a charge Rizvi rejected and said the panel is bridging gaps between different communities.

The VHP's criticism came after Rizvi, newly appointed to the NCM post, announced resumption of a commission helpline service to enable persons directly contact the statutory panel with their grievances.

"NCM Chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi... is strengthening feelings of separatism in the Muslim community," Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said in a statement here.

"While informing about the decision to start a helpline number for Muslims, he (Rizvi) said the Muslims could call on this number in case any atrocity is committed against them. This makes one feel that the atrocities against the Muslims have reached such proportions that the extreme step of opening a helpline for the community had to be taken up," Jain said.

He said "the very genesis of a Minorities Commission is encouragement to separatism".

"Isn't the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) more than enough to safeguard the rights of all the citizens of the nation," Jain asked.

He demanded that the NHRC should be empowered while the Minorities Commission should be scrapped.

Reacting to VHP's allegations, Rizvi said that the panel aims to safeguard the constitutional rights of all minorities, not just Muslims, and that it cannot be wished away.

"The NCM was constituted in 1992 by an Act of Parliament to safeguard the constitutional rights of all minorities, not just Muslims. It does not matter what any individual or organisation thinks about it," Rizvi told IANS.

Rizvi said it must have been formed after a need for it was felt.

"Our job is to bridge the gap (between the majority and minority communities), not create any resentment," he added.

"As for the helpline, we are just reviving an existing helpline that has been lying defunct for 4-5 years due to technical reason. The idea behind the helpline is that those who cannot approach the commission through written communication, can avail the service of helpline," Rizvi said.

In August 2014, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, and held that the Act did not discriminate on the ground of religion.

--IANS

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