Shia clerics in the Uttar Pradesh capital, Lucknow on Sunday during a convention in the Bada Imambada demanded for representation in the parliament through quota.
Calling all Shia clerics of Uttar Pradesh, Cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad asked them to attend the convention. Addressing the gathering, Jawad said that in Lucknow alone there are three assembly seats where candidates win only if they get Shia votes. "The Shia community decides who will win the election in Lucknow and yet we are being ignored," he said.
In order to access government benefits, a community needs to be politically strong. One that is not politically strong does not get any benefits, he added, as he asked for a special package for Shias from the government.
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Jawad said the government keeps on talking about Pasmanda Muslims, but the fact is that a large number of Pasmandas are from the Shia community. He said the Shia community doesn't have any representation in the parliament and demanded a quota such as reserved for Parsis.
"We demand that the youth of the Shia community should get the reservation in government jobs, reservation in economic packages, seats in parliament and state assembly and the government should remove all encroachment from the waqf property," said Jawad.
(With PTI inputs)
