Amidst growing opposition to the scrapping of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh on Friday, December 16 said the government's decision to annul the scholarship was an "anti-minority and anti-education" move, which jeopardises the idea of the right to education.
The MP from Kerala raised the matter in the Lok Sabha during zero hour. According to IANS, the statement received support from the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP NK Premchandran. Chowdhury said that "it is sheer discrimination of the minority community of the country." Commenting on the issue, Suresh said the decision to cancel the scholarship, which was launched by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, is an "insult" to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and disregards all the freedom fighters and their memories of sacrifice.
"The decision would make higher education inaccessible to underprivileged students from minority communities, and it has a national impact as the scheme covered all institutions recognised by the University Grants Commission. The anti-minority sentiment behind the decision is evident, and the Union minority affairs minister Smriti Irani told the Lok Sabha that the Maulana Azad National Fellowship was overlapping with other schemes under which the minority students were also covered. The excuse defies logic as any overlap can be identified by linking the Fellowship with Aadhaar or other universal documents," Suresh said, according to the report by IANS.
The Congress MP sought restoration of the scholarship. Ever since the winter session of the parliament started last week, several MPs cutting across party lines have raised the matter and sought the restoration of the scholarship. The announcement to annul the scholarship was made in the Lok Sabha by the Minister for Minority Affairs, Smriti Irani. On December 14, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that scholars who applied for the MANF before March 31, 2022, will continue to receive the benefit until the end of their tenure.