Kolkata: Lauding state govt’s move to end stipends paid to imams, muezzins and purohits, Bengal BJP on Monday said it supported all welfare schemes, but they should not be based on religious basis.Speaking on this, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Constitution does not allow discrimination among communities based on religion. Govt will work for the people of Bengal and not any specific community. It will neither favour a Hindu or a Muslim.”State govt on Monday decided to discontinue all assistance on the basis of religious classification starting June 1, cancelling such stipends introduced under the previous govt. “Priests and imams are part of the society and govt will not have any specific policy for their welfare. There are general social welfare schemes and a welfare state should be equally responsible to a priest or a farmer,” Bhattacharya said. On the OBC issue, BJP said state govt’s decision towards a complete overhaul of the reservation framework aligned with the party’s stand against the inclusion of 75 Muslim communities in the state’s OBC list.Clarifying the party and state govt’s stance on issues related to religion, Bhattacharya said, “a religious practice or process of worship does not define dharma. We will continue to oppose divisive policies based on religious practices or methods of worship,” he said.BJP, during the election campaign, had stressed on “equal respect to all faiths” and opposed “appeasement”. Reiterating the party’s stance, Bhattacharya said, “Nobody can occupy a govt land and construct a mazar or mosque there. Similarly, nobody will be allowed to construct a Hanuman temple on land that belongs to the state. This practice needs to be stopped and the govt will ensure that.” Bhattacharya went on to say, “Cow slaughter in public will not be tolerated any more. We have specifically said that nothing can be done which can hurt the religious sentiments of another community.”Speaking on cattle slaughter nroms, state BJP spokesperson and lawyer Debjit Sarkar said Bengal govt was merely following the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950. “The law was made almost three decades before BJP was formed. Govt is implementing this and establishing rule of law in the state,” he said.
