J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah (File photo)
SRINAGAR/JAMMU: J&K CM Omar Abdullah on Friday defended an order by local authorities in Jammu’s Kishtwar regulating collection of zakat (charity) during Ramadan amid widespread criticism of the move, including by some of his cabinet colleagues and ally Congress.Speaking in the assembly, Omar urged legislators “not to politicise every issue” and clarified that the Feb 18 order was issued by the Kishtwar deputy commissioner (DC) after consulting religious leaders as a safety measure to check donation deceptions. “We shouldn’t mix religion with politics. Some matters require dialogue and understanding at the local level rather than political confrontation,” Omar said.The DC’s order says the aim is to check “unregulated and unauthorised collection of donations by individuals” in Ramadan. It warns against collection of donations by “unregistered” individuals or institutions without permission from Wakf Board or sub-divisional magistrates.Omar referred to a House debate on Thursday when Congress MLAs Nizamuddin Bhat and GA Mir had raised the issue and denounced the order as an interference in religious affairs. “I looked into the matter and found that the DC did not issue the order on his own,” Omar said.According to Omar, many had raised concerns about the misuse of charitable collections at a meeting ahead of Ramadan with religious leaders in Kishtwar. “They told the DC that genuine charitable organisations suffer losses as donors are misled by fraudulent groups. The DC issued the order on the advice of these religious leaders,” Omar said, adding the move had been welcomed by the Imam of Jamia Masjid Kishtwar and other clerics in the district.Many were not persuaded. Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary decried the order, saying such a decision should not have been taken at the district level when an elected govt was in place. Tanvir Sadiq, spokesperson for Omar’s governing National Conference (NC), also debunked the “localised directive”. “I think it is interference in religious affairs,” Sadiq said.Opposition PDP joined the chorus of condemnation, with party MLA Waheed Parra arguing that charity is not a security issue and urging reconsideration of the directive. CPI(M) state secretary MY Tarigami said the order effectively “casts suspicion on the entire Muslim community”.BJP was the only one to welcome the order. J&K leader of opposition Sunil Sharma alleged that some individuals collect zakat during Ramadan and use the funds for “anti-national activities”. He called for such measures elsewhere to prevent misuse of charity for subversive purposes.
