Article 30, allowing minorities to establish educational institutes, discriminatory: Kailash Vijayvargiya

The Congress called Vijayvargiya’s comments an attempt to whip up communal passions at a time when the country is struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday said Article 30 of the Constitution is “discriminatory” because it allows minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

“When our country is a votary of secularism, why is Article 30 needed?” Vijayvargiya tweeted in Hindi, adding that the Article had ‘harmed the right to constitutional equality’ in the country.

Article 30 of the Constitution says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

The Congress called Vijayvargiya’s comments an attempt to whip up communal passions. “When humanity is threatened by the coronavirus, the BJP is engaging in a sponsored game to remove Article 30. It’s an attempt by so-called Hindutva elements to spread the “virus of hatred” against minorities,” said Congress leader K K Mishra.

Vijayvargiya also targeted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, alleging she was not allowing trains carrying migrants to reach her state. “There is no fear if Jamaatis reach Bengal, when a train reaches West Bengal from Ajmer Sharif, the coronavirus does not spread, but when a train carries migrant labourers from Maharashtra, the infection spreads. What sort of logic is this? Mamata, what do you have against migrant labourers,” the senior BJP leader tweeted.

Madhya Pradesh has so far reported 7,261 Covid-19 cases and 313 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family welfare website.