New Delhi: A day after the Delhi Jal Board withdrew an order granting two-hour leave to Muslim staff during Ramadan, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation retracted a similar order.
With prior approval of the competent authority, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, in an order, had earlier allowed Muslim employees fasting during Ramadan to leave work at 4:30 pm.
However, the order was revoked after the vice chairman of the civic body, Satish Upadhyay spoke with the chairman of the NDMC and the competent authority, urging them to immediately withdraw the order. Calling in the ‘unsecular’ order Upadhyay said, “We knew nothing about any such order and when it came to my knowledge, I opposed the unsecular order.” India Today TV reported.
Similarly, the Delhi Jal Board, which passed the order on Monday, also withdrew it after criticism from several quarters.
While the Delhi BJP accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of “appeasing Muslims”, the Aam Aadmi Party is silent over the controversy.
According to the officials of both government bodies, the practice of giving 1-2 hour break to Muslim employees during the holy month had been followed for long and was never questioned before.
