Cong urges K’taka govt to let Muslims leave offices after 4 pm during Ramzan

Karnataka Congress vice-presidents A R M Hussain and Syed Ahmed have asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to issue a similar directive after the governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, led by the Congress and the NDA ally TDP, respectively, decided to permit Muslim employees to leave government offices early for Iftar in the upcoming month of Ramadan, Indian Express reported.

Congress leaders wrote to Siddaramaiah on Thursday, saying, “Since the month of Ramzan is approaching, the government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has already given permission to the staff working in government offices to break for Iftar at their homes after 4 pm as Muslims are fasting for one month during the month of Ramzan. Therefore, we hereby request you to kindly allow our Muslim government employees in Karnataka to break for Iftar at their homes after 4 pm.”

Hussain said this was only a request. “Ultimately it is the government’s call. We welcome any decision that the government takes. Since we all will be fasting from March 2 to March 30, we are requesting that Muslim government employees be allowed to leave an hour early for prayers and to break their fast. The government can allow them to log in early to work at 9 am and leave after 4 pm, instead of 10 am and 5 pm, for the said days,” he added.

A February 17 order of the Telangana government allowed all “Government Muslim Employees/Teachers/Contract/Out-sourcing/Boards/Corporations & Public Sector Employees working in the State to leave their Offices/Schools at 4.00 pm during the month of Ramzan from March 2 to March 31”.