Demolished madrassa to be rebuilt: Naqvi

RAMPUR: Madrassa Jamia Saiedia, which was demolished in the month of Ramzan in 2013 by the district administration allegedly at the behest of SP leader and UP minister Mohammad Azam Khan, will be reconstructed, Union minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi told TOI over the phone on Tuesday. He was recently inducted into the Narendra Modi government as minority and parliamentary affairs minister.
The news was welcomed by both students and teaching staff of the madrassa.
Maulana Azhar Khan, director of the madrassa, alleged that the building was demolished at the behest of state urban development minister and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. He termed it as an act of political vendetta against him. Azhar Khan and the madrassa staff had opposed Azam Khan during the assembly election in 2012. Incidentally, Madrassa Jamia Saiedia was granted Rs1 lakh as aid by the UP minister earlier.
Naqvi, who is also BJP vice-president, was elected in 1998 to the Lok Sabha from Rampur after defeating sitting Congress MP Begun Noor Bano. In the Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Naqvi was the I&B minister. Now, 16 years, he has once again been inducted into the Union Cabinet.
In 1998, Rampur was the first district of Uttar Pradesh which was connected with Internet facilities and now, the reconstruction of the demolished madrassa has been welcomed by the minority community, who feel he can counter Azam Khan’s influence in the region.