Mohsin Raza, first Muslim in Yogi cabinet sacked

LUCKNOW: Mohsin Raza, the lone Muslim minister in Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has been sacked. According to media reports, Minister of State for Muslim Waqf and Haj, Mohsin Raza is accused of violating laws and selling property, a charge denied by the latter. Shia Central Waqf Board spokesman Abid Raza says that Mohsin Raza is illegally selling Waqf property and family cemeteries of Waqf Alia Begum. Acting on this, the UP Central Shia Waqf Board has dismissed Mohsin Raza, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Yogi government from the Unnao Waqf Mutwali post and directly taken the Waqf under board control. The Board has also taken action against the state’s Secretary of the Friends Co-operative Housing Committee of Lucknow Rajbabu Rastogi, Asgar Raza, Saifi Mirza, Kafi Mirza, Younus Zahir, Saleha Begum, Akhtar Hussain Hadi and Feroz Rahim. The minister rubbished the allegations and said that the matter is under consideration in court. He called it a conspiracy and claimed that charges were being “fabricated” against him. In the UP assembly elections, even though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had not fielded a single Muslim candidate while contesting the 403 assembly seats, Mohsin Raza, Shia Muslim was included in the government’s newly-elected Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a Muslim face.