By Waquar Hasan
NEW DELHI — Muslim activists and public representatives have alleged that members of the community in Parbhani and other districts are being denied birth certificates on baseless grounds due to pressure from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya.
On Monday, a delegation of Muslim leaders met with the Parbhani collector and Municipal Corporation Commissioner and lodged a complaint regarding the denial of birth certificates and the undue influence of Somaiya over the local administration. The delegation, led by the Maharashtra-based Muslim Adhikar Parishad, comprised corporators, leaders and workers from the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), Congress and the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
Speaking to The Hindustan Gazette, Wahid Patel, President of Muslim Adhikar Parishad, said that for the last year, birth certificates have been frequently denied to Muslims, causing a great deal of trouble for them. Thousands of people have approached him and the officials of his group with complaints of being unnecessarily denied birth certificates or of being prevented from converting offline certificates to online ones.
“The officials are not issuing birth certificates. They are neither making the handwritten birth certificate online nor issuing it, creating a lot of trouble and deliberately harassing people. This issue has been created since the last year, when Kirit Somaiya started visiting here,” he said.
According to Patel, mostly Muslims are facing this issue. When someone goes to make their offline birth certificate online, they are asked to submit their documents again. When they submit the certificate, they are asked to bring a court order after being made to wait for several months. The certificate is also not given even after the documents are submitted. The officials simply delay the matter. Sometimes it is obtained if one takes the help of agents. But certificates can also be cancelled if Kirit Somaiya exerts pressure. The children of women who married outside the state are also denied birth certificates.
“Even after submitting documents, the certificate is being denied. They make any excuse to delay the matter. Sometimes, they say that the certificate was not approved by the higher officer. About 450 certificates were cancelled, but no reason was given for denying any of them. You will have to give a reason why you are cancelling the certificates. You made the certificate, signed it and put your stamp on it. One month later, you cancel them when Kirit Somaiya visits,” he said.
“Earlier, on what basis did you generate the certificate? Now, on what basis have you cancelled them? If you find any fault, tell us. The rules are that you should tell us about the faults in the submission and documents before generating the certificate. You are telling us about faults two to three months after generating the certificate. Even if there is a fault, please tell us. But they are not saying anything on this,” he added.
This story was originally published in thehindustangazette.com. Read the full story here.