Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday criticized the Madaris for refusing to put up a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the premises even as the state Madarsa Board Chief cited religious limitation for not obliging.
"The Madaris in the state have not installed pictures of the prime minister because of religious beliefs as Islam prohibits installation of pictures of living beings inside mosques and madarsas," Deputy Registrar of Uttarakhand Madarsa Board Akhlaq Ahmad had told PTI.
The order was issued to all the government-run educational institutions soon after the Independence Day last year, asking them to install a portrait of Modi inside their premises and take a pledge to implement his vision of building a new India by 2022.
Elaborating further, Akhlaq Ahmad said the refusal to install the picture of the prime minister inside the madarsas should not be interpreted as their opposition to an individual.
"They are not opposed to any individual in particular. It is purely due to religious beliefs. Islam does not permit us to install pictures of living things or individuals, including those of religious leaders, inside the mosques or madarsas," Ahmad had said.
Chief Minister Rawat however has a different view and is adamant that the Madaris should install the portrait of Modi inside their premises.
"Installing the prime minister's portrait in all government institutions and those being run on government grants has been an established practice. The madaris should give up their conservatism on the issue," news agency PTI quoted him as saying while talking to reporters in Dehradun.
"Madarsas are also educational institutions. They should not have any objection to installing a portrait of the prime minister. They should view the issue from the Indian point of view," Rawat added.
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