AIMPLB terms Waqf bill 'direct attack on Muslims', to stage protest on March 17

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board Tuesday announced it will hold a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on March 17 at Jantar Mantar here to invoke the conscience of "secular" political parties, including those part of the NDA government.

The 'dharna' was to be held on March 13 but has been postponed in view of holidays on account of Holi and Parliament may also not meet that day, the board's spokesperson SQR Ilyas said.

He also said that many MPs have been invited for the protest.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesperson said that after careful consideration, the Board has come to the conclusion that the proposed legislation will pave the way for the "usurping" of Waqf properties and it was a "direct attack" on Muslims.

"We expected that our suggestions will be taken into account by the joint committee of Parliament. But neither our opinion was considered nor the amendments proposed by the opposition parties were included," Ilyas said at a press conference.

He said the AIMPLB had facilitated over 3.6 crore responses via emails to suggestions sought by the parliamentary panel.

The bill amounts to "discrimination" as it calls for having non-Muslim members in Waqf boards and councils when no such provision is there in the management of the endowments of Hindus and Sikhs, the spokesperson said.

In a statement, AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Fazlur Raheem Mujaddidi and Ilyas said that despite five crore Muslims sending emails to the joint committee against the Bill and extensive representation by the Muslim Personal Law Board, prominent national and state-level Muslim organisations, and key individuals, the government has not only refused to reconsider its stance but has made the bill even "more stringent and controversial".

In democratic countries, any law or bill is usually discussed with its primary stakeholders before being introduced in the legislature. However, this government has followed an "authoritarian approach" from the very beginning, they said.

"The three farm laws were passed in Parliament without any consultation with farmers. It was only after prolonged and determined protests by farmers that the government was forced to withdraw them," the statement said, adding the AIMPLB will run a nationwide campaign against the bill.

When the bill faced severe criticism from the opposition parties, a 31-member joint committee was formed, but it, being dominated by ruling party members, made superficial modifications and further tightened the bill, it claimed.

The committee outrightly rejected the well-argued objections and reasonable suggestions from the Muslim community as well as the 44 amendments proposed by opposition members who were part of the committee, the statement said.

"The Muslim Personal Law Board engaged with opposition leaders as well as heads of the BJP's allied parties to convey the Muslim community's well-founded objections to the bill.

"As part of this effort, a high-level delegation led by the board's General Secretary Maulana Fazlur Raheem Mujaddidi met Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada," the AIMPLB said.

The delegation briefed Naidu in detail about the community's concerns regarding the bill. Meanwhile, large-scale protests were held across the country, organised by various Muslim organizations, voicing strong opposition to the bill.

"He (Naidu) said he will look into the matter and decide," Ilyas said.

The spokesperson further said an AIMPLB delegation had also met JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and sought his support to which he had a reply similar to Naidu's.

The AIMPLB urged parties such as TDP, JD(U), RLD and LJP (Ramvilas) to not support the bill as they are expected to think on the lines of the welfare of the minority community. "If they do not do so then we will have to decide our future course of action (vis-a-vis these parties)," Mujaddidi said.

Despite all efforts, the legitimate concerns of the Muslim community have been ignored and the NDA government remains committed to its agenda of "seizing and destroying" Waqf properties, Mujaddidi and Ilyas said.

"It is deeply regrettable that even the NDA's allied parties, which claim to be secular and justice-loving, are supporting the BJP's communal agenda despite receiving substantial Muslim votes. The Muslim community views this Wagf Amendment Bill as a direct attack on the community," the statement said.

The AIMPLB, along with all religious and community-based organizations, and justice-loving citizens across the country, will exercise their democratic and constitutional rights by staging a protest at Jantar Mantar on March 17, it said.

"This demonstration aims to invoke the conscience of secular political parties," the statement added. PTI ASK ASK NSD NSD NSD