Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a hike in the salaries of Imams and muezzins of mosques in Delhi. The Delhi Waqf Board will pay the hiked salary. Delhi Chief Minister announced this during an event organised by the Delhi Waqf Board which was attended by all the imams and muezzins of all mosques in the national capital.
Kejriwal made this announcement in a conference held at Aiwan-e-Ghalib at Mata Sundari Road. Ministers Imran Husain and Kailash Gehlot, deputy speaker Rakhi Bidlan and Delhi State Hajj Committee Chairman Haji Ishraq Khan were also present on the occasion.
Kejriwal said that there are Waqf properties in large numbers in Delhi but the previous governments did not utilize them properly, as a result, Waqf Board always remained weak. He announced to utilize Waqf properties for the welfare of the society and to construct schools, colleges and hospitals.
AAP chief told that only Aam Aadmi Party can defeat BJP, while Congress cannot win a single seat. If the votes are split, BJP will win, he warned. If Modi becomes prime minister in 2019, the constitution of the country will change. He will work as Hitler, said Kejriwal.
The AAP chief announced that the salaries of imams of 185 mosques in the national capital that come under the Delhi Waqf Board will be increased from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 18,000 per month, while the salary of the muezzins would be increased from Rs 9,000 per month to Rs 16,000 per month.
Besides that, a salary hike for imams and muezzins of the mosques that are outside the domain of Delhi Waqf Board has also been announced. The imams of these mosques will get a salary of Rs 14,000 per month while the muezzins will get Rs 12,000 per month. For the first time, salary expense of such mosques would be covered by a government body.