NEW DELHI: NDA allies — TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar — should take note of Muslim sentiments and not allow the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to be passed in Parliament, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said Sunday, stepping up its campaign against the passage of the proposed legislation, which is at present under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Adopting a resolution at the “Save The Constitution” convention held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the Capital, JUH appealed to the “parties within the NDA that claim to be secular to distance themselves from supporting this dangerous proposed bill and to prove their secular credentials”. JUH said that it supports the stance of opposition parties regarding the proposed Bill.
Incidentally, the JPC on the Waqf bill will be meeting for another round of meetings for two days starting Monday.
Calling the two allies -TDP and JD(U) as “crutches” that the BJP led NDA govt at the Centre was dependent on for staying in power, Maulana Arshad Madani, chief of the one of the factions of the JUH that led the Convention, cautioned that if the Waqf Bill is passed ignoring the sentiments of the Muslims – “it will be as much a responsibility of the crutches as it would be of those calling the shots in the Central govt. Both the TDP and JD(U) will not be able to escape responsibility.”
“People did not give the BJP the required mandate in the Lok Sabha elections to form a govt on its own as they did not accept their policies. However, the BJP led govt that is running the show today is dependent on two crutches – its allies – TDP and JD(U). Without them the BJP would not have been able to form govt.”
Sharing that he had invited N Chandrababu Naidu for the convention, Madani acknowledged that even though he did not come the TDP chief sent his party’s vice president Nawab Jan. “I perceive this to be a positive sign as he is Naidu’s representative and will convey the message of all those present at the Convention,” Madani said.
The JUH chief shared that as part of its outreach on the issue, Jamiat has decided to hold a public meeting in December, in Andhra Pradesh where they will bring together around five lakh Muslims to put forth the concerns of the Muslims.
Attended by clerics and scholars from prominent Muslim organisations including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the JUH passed a resolution at the convention, where it rejected the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 and demanded that it be withdrawn by the govt. They also sought that the existing law – Waqf Act 2013 be retained as it is.
“No individual from any other religion be included in the Waqf Board, and that the JPC be bound to consult only Muslims, Muslim organizations, and Muslim leaders,” the resolution asserts.
“If the bill is passed, the board will become powerless, the status of the Waqf Tribunal will be abolished, and a district collector will identify Waqf with their decision being final. As a result, government control and occupation of Waqf (endowments) will become extremely easy,” the JUH resolution highlights with concern.