Respect Muslim sentiments: Jamiat to JD(U), TDP on proposed Waqf Bill

Stepping up its campaign against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Sunday urged TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar to heed the sentiments of Muslims on the matter and said the parties within the NDA that claim to be secular must distance themselves from supporting this “dangerous” legislation.

It also cautioned that if the legislation is passed, the “two crutches” on which the BJP-led government is running at the Centre, would not be able to escape responsibility. Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani made the assertion at the prominent Muslim body’s ‘Save Constitution convention’ held here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

“People of the country defeated the BJP. They did not accept their policies. This government is dependent on two crutches — a strong one is Chandrababu and the other is Nitish Kumar. I had invited him (Naidu), he excused himself but has sent senior party leader Nawab Jan. I look at this positively as he will convey the sentiments of the people gathered here,” Madani said. “If the Waqf Bill is passed ignoring the emotions of Muslims — it would be as much a responsibility of the crutches as it would be of other powers at the Centre,” Madani said.

A resolution passed by the Jamiat at the Convention put forward the demand that no individual from any other religion be included in the Waqf Board, and that Parliament’s joint committee be bound to consult only Muslims, Muslim organisations, and Muslim leaders. “Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind supports the stance of Opposition parties regarding the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill and appeals 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,” the resolution read.

Madani said Jamiat has decided that either by the end of this month or in December, it would hold a gathering of around five lakh Muslims in Chandrababu Naidu’s “area” and put forward Muslims’ feelings before him.

“If this Bill is passed, the crutches on which the government is dependent would not be able to escape responsibility for it,” he reiterated. Madani said the Waqf is established by “our ancestors and is a part of Allah’s ownership, with mosques built on it”. “They chant slogans saying that Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs are separate, but we say that Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians sab hai bhai-bhai,” the Jamiat chief said.