No concrete action taken by PM Modi for Pasmanda Muslims, claims outfit

An organisation of Pasmanda Muslims on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not taken any concrete step to resolve the issues of their community and demanded that a plan for their uplift be implemented before the Lok Sabha polls, after he yet again expressed concern over their plight.

National president of Pasmanda Muslim Samaj Anees Mansoori also questioned the need for bringing Uniform Civil Code when people of different religions, sects and castes in the country have been "living for centuries with their own religious and social rules and regulations in the country without any conflict".

He asked the prime minister to implement a concrete action plan to integrate the people from the Pasmanda community into the mainstream before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections so that they could trust his promises.

Last week, Prime Minister Modi made a strong push for a Uniform Civil Code(UCC), asking how can the country function with dual laws that govern personal matters. He also said that those supporting 'triple talaq' were doing a grave injustice to Muslim daughters and that Pasmanda Muslims, who are backward, are not even treated as equals because of the vote bank politics.

Also Read | Who are Pasmanda Muslims and why is the BJP wooing them?

In a statement, Mansoori said that on July 3 last year, Prime Minister Modi had expressed concern over the plight of Pasmanda Muslims during the BJP's national executive meeting held in Hyderabad and had talked about integrating them into the mainstream of the country

"One year has passed since then but the prime minister has not yet made any concrete action plan to alleviate the problems of Pasmanda Muslims," he said.

"If Modi is really concerned about addressing grievances of the backward Muslims, then he should honestly prepare a concrete action plan and implement it before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections so that the Pasmanda Muslim community can have faith in the prime minister's promise," he said.

The public acceptance of the plight of 85 percent of Pasmanda Muslims by the prime minister further strengthened the need for an action plan for the upliftment of this section of Muslims. "However, it is a matter of regret that Modi has not yet taken any initiative to solve the problems of Pasmanda Muslims," he said.

The Pasmanda community among Muslims comprises around 41 "castes", including Ansari, Qureshi, Mansoori, Salmani and Siddiqui. They are in professions such as butchers and weavers and are considered the most backward strata on social, economic and political parameters.

Responding to the prime minister's statement on the sensitive issue of UCC, Mansoori said that in India people of different religions, sects and castes have been living for centuries and following their own religious and social rules and regulations. "What is the point of implementing UCC here," he asked.