In a major blow to the politics of minority appeasement in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government withdrew a bill that conferred protection on madrassa teachers in the state against legal action. The bill was approved by the previous Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav in 2016.
The bill granted privilege to madrassa teachers in violation of the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution. According to Minority Welfare Minister Omprakash Rajbhar, under the bill named Uttar Pradesh Madrasa (Payment of Salaries to Teachers and Other Employees) Bill, no legal action or investigation could be initiated against a madrassa employee. The bill contained provisions relating to the payment of salaries to madrassa teachers and other staff members. Besides, it had clauses which blocked administrative and legal actions against madrassas.
As per reports, after the Samajwadi Party government got the bill passed in both houses of the state legislature, the then Governor Ram Naik referred it to the President. Naik objected to the bill and said that it was against the Constitution. As a result, the bill could not be implemented during the Samajwadi Party government. After the BJP got a resounding majority in the Uttar Pradesh elections and formed the government in 2017, the President returned the Bill. Due to the major legal flaws in the bill, the Central government asked the State government to introduce a new bill in compliance with the Constitution. The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has now approved a proposal to withdraw the bill. In addition to that, the state cabinet has 24 proposals along with a supplementary budget.