In yet another controversial fatwa, Islamic seminary Darul Uloom has ruled that Muslim women should not contest elections and if they have to do they must do it under veil, evoking sharp reactions from political parties.

"Muslim women are not allowed to appear before men without a veil and under the Islamic law pardanashin (veiled) women are only allowed to contest elections," the Darool Uloom of Deoband said in the edict issued Tuesday. It said those contesting panchayat elections must cover their faces.

Various political parties have reacted sharply to the edict with Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj saying edicts from religious groups have no significance under the Constitution and it is up to the people whether they want to abide by them or not.

Congress MP Rashid Alvi said if Muslim women do not contest elections, the entire community will lag behind.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury condemned it by saying the Constitution has given women equal rights and this right should not be infringed.

Calling the edict wrong, Bharatiya Janata Party Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said women should get equal rights in every sphere.

The fatwa has come at a time when hundreds of Muslim women are contesting panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, where 33 per cent seats have been reserved for women.