{"id":27581,"date":"2018-10-26T14:42:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T13:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/?p=27581"},"modified":"2018-10-26T14:51:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T13:51:23","slug":"mps-to-debate-holding-public-holidays-on-religious-occasions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/26\/mps-to-debate-holding-public-holidays-on-religious-occasions\/","title":{"rendered":"MPs to debate holding public holidays on religious occasions"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday 29 October MPs will debate petitions, available here<\/span> and here<\/span>, urging the Government to hold public holidays on Muslims religious occasions in the UK (Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha) and on Hindu religious occasions (Diwali and Dussera).<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The debate will start at 5.30pm and will be opened by Martyn Day MP, a member of the Petitions Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The petition calling for public holidays on Muslim religious occasions, which has more than 46,000\u00a0signatures, states that: \u201cThis will give an opportunity for Muslim families to get together and share happiness with other religious communities. It is very important for Muslims to celebrate EID\u201d later adding that despite being the second largest UK religion \u201cMuslims don’t get a lawful Public Holiday on their two special religious occasions in a year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The petition calling for public holidays on Hindu special occasions, which has more than 11,000\u00a0signatures, states that: \u201cIt is very important for Hindus to celebrate Diwali and also Diwali \u2014 Festival of Lights is a major holiday that is also celebrated by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.\u201d They also note that Hinduism is the third largest religion in England but that Hindus don’t get a lawful Public Holiday on religious occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the petitions, the Government said: \u201cThe Government has no plans to create a public holiday to commemorate religious festivals such as Eid and Diwali\u201d adding that the \u201ccosts are considerable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government regularly receives requests for additional bank and public holidays to celebrate a variety of occasions including religious festivals. However the current pattern is well established and accepted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s debate will provide an opportunity for MPs to question a Government Minister directly on these petitions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Petition details<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n