AGRA: Aligarh Muslim University's minority status might have become an issue now, but former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a strong proponent of the varsity's minority character.Taking to TOI, director of Urdu Academy Dr Rahat Abrar, also a former public relation officer in AMU , said that everything is documented. He said, "Atal ji supported the minority character of AMU. In fact, he had promised in its election manifesto to restore the minority character of the University if comes in power."During the 1979 mid-term elections, its manifesto read, "The Janta party will give priority to enacting appropriate legislation to restore the autonomy and original character of the university as institution for Oriental and Islamic studies, and for the promotion of educational and cultural advancement, primarily of the Muslim community."However, the bill introduced by the Indira Gandhi led government, was actually drafted by Jan Sangh leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, who were the part of the Morarji Desai cabinet.The legislation in question was the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, which was passed two years later in 1981 by then Congress government.Abrar said that Ram Jethmalani, the then vice president of Janata party, even introduced a private member bill to give a minority status to AMU.However, more than three decades later, in April, 2016, the BJP-led NDA told the Supreme Court that AMU is not a minority institution, seeking to reverse the stance taken by the UPA.This year, the controversy over "minority" status erupted again after UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that AMU, Aligarh and the Jamia Milia, New Delhi would have to grant quotas to the SCs and STs. The controversy was further aggravated when BJP MP from Aligarh Satish Gautam raised the issue on July 12 in a letter to the AMU vice chancellor.

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