Mumtaz Alam, IndiaTomorrow.net,
Jaipur, Jan 5: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has welcomed the conversion of a Dalit IAS officer in Rajasthan saying it is constitutional right for one to choose religion of his or her choice. However, Jamaat has said the Dalit officer should not have linked his conversion with issues related to his service.
Umrao Salodia, chairman of Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, announced his conversion to Islam at a press conference here last week (31st Dec).
A 1978 batch IAS officer, Umrao Salodia (now Umrao Khan) was the senior most IAS officer in the race for becoming the next chief secretary of Rajasthan but alleging victimisation by the state government he announced his voluntary retirement (six months before actual retirement) and also his conversion. He said he wasn’t made chief secretary despite being the senior most IAS officer in the state.
However, the state government is reportedly preparing for disciplinary action against Salodia, alleging that he has breached the service rules for IAS officers.
Meanwhile, media reports said Salodia is facing charges over a controversial land transfer decision he took as Chairman of Revenue Board in Ajmer.
We welcome him, but he shouldn’t have linked it with service: Jamaat
“We welcome that he has embraced Islam. We hope that he has converted to Islam with full sincerity and understanding and he will stay on it,” said Dr. M. Iqbal Siddiqui, Media Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Rajasthan while talking to IndiaTomorrow.net over phone.
However, Jamaat has not appreciated the way he announced his conversion and linked it with his service.
“We are of the view that he should not have linked it with his job and service. We do not think it proper the way he announced his conversion. Why he did so will be clear only after we meet him,” said Dr Siddiqui.
“However, his decision to convert is within the rights given by the Constitution of India which gives freedom to all to adopt region of his choice. It is good he has chosen Islam. He is right that there is no discrimination in Islam. He announced it at the press conference also,” he added.
There is discrimination against Dalits: Congress, Jamaat
Jamaat leader said his conversion denotes deep-rooted caste-based discrimination in the system.
“There is discrimination in the entire system. Some other Dalit officers are also saying that there is bias and it is from top to bottom – from the highest rank to the lowest rank. There is bias in the system irrespective of which party is in power,” he said.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot also criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan for “acts of discrimination against the Dalits”.
“Mr Salodia’s appeal for Voluntary Retirement has put the working of the BJP government [in Rajasthan] under question. Also, it is tragic that the indifference of the BJP government led the senior officer to convert to Islam,” Sachin Pilot has been quoted as saying by The Hindu.
