Muslim religious organisations are up in arms against the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, alleging the UPA government wanted to “tax the house of god – temple, church, masjids and imambaras”.
At a conference on Protection of Constitutional Rights of the Muslim community here on Saturday, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board urged the government to exempt religious trusts from the DTC purview. Human resource development and telecom minister Kapil Sibal, who was present on the occasion, assured the community that the government would look into their grievance.
Describing the DTC bill as a “betrayal” to the community, Maulana Mohammed Wali Rahmani of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said, “If the bill becomes law, it will be harmful for the country.” He urged Sibal, whom he described as an “advocate for the community,” to raise their concerns before the government.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Mahmood A Madani said, “Religious institutions have been brought under the tax purview. We want a return to the earlier regime of being exempted.” Significantly, under the revised DTC bill, donations to religious trusts could be impacted as donors would now be fully taxed for donations made to such trusts. At present, 50 per cent deduction is allowed on donations made to religious institutions. While donations made to religious trusts will be taxed, donors will get 50 per cent deduction on donations made to wholly charitable institutions.
The Muslim community is also opposed to inclusion of minority educational institutions under the ambit of the Right to Education Act (RTE).
Sibal assured them that an amendment to the RTE Act — addressing concerns of not just the Muslim but also Christian, Sikh and all other minority-run educational institutions, and exempting them from the provisions of the RTE — will be passed in the Budget session. “If the 14 crore Muslims are left behind in development, it is not good for the nation. There are shortcomings in the RTE Act and the DTC bill. We will set it right,” Sibal said.
Significantly, both issues have been raised by the community even in the ongoing Assembly polls, especially in Uttar Pradesh, where there is a sizebale Muslim vote bank. Wary of backlash from the community, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has also gone on record to state that both issues will be dealt with amicably.