Muslim board fails to convince BJP allies to oppose the contentious bill
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has again deferred its protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill. The planned massive demonstration at the iconic Jantar Mantar in the national capital will now be held on March 17 instead of March 13. This is the second time the protest rally has been deferred; earlier it was planned for March 10. The second change of date has been done because of the Hindu festival of Holi.
Formed in 1973, the AIMPLB represents the interests of Muslims in matters of personal law.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India here on Tuesday, AIMPLB spokesperson Dr Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said: “There have been continuous protests happening in various places, and press conferences are being held. We were supposed to hold a protest on March 13, but the date coincided with Holi. On that day, Members of Parliament won’t be able to attend the sit-in. Therefore, now we will hold the protest on 17th March.”
“People from all communities who supported us have been invited to join the protest. Many MPs have also been invited. The BJP always spreads hatred, but at least we expect that their allied parties will not support the BJP in this decision,” Ilyas added.
On 1 March, the AIMPLB announced a massive demonstration on 10 March but it was later deferred to 13 March. Simultaneous with the Muslim board’s announcement of the protest, the right-wing Hindu Raksha Dal also laid bare its intention to counter it by holding a protest at the same venue and on the same day.
In a statement on Tuesday, the AIMPLB said the delegations of the Muslim group met with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies to draw their attention towards the concerns of the minority community. However, the BJP allies are also supporting the communal agenda of the BJP, it said.
“The Muslim Personal Law Board engaged with opposition leaders as well as heads of 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 (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada. The delegation briefed him about the community’s concerns regarding the bill. Meanwhile, large-scale protests were held across the country, organised by various Muslim organisations, voicing strong opposition to the bill,” said the board.
Criticising the BJP allies, the TDP and JD(U), for their support of the Waqf Bill, the Muslim group said despite these 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. “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 Waqf Amendment Bill as a direct attack on the community. It is evident that the BJP’s politics thrive on communal polarisation and the strategy of ‘divide and rule.’ However, its allied parties must decide how far they are willing to align with this divisive agenda,” it said.
On 8 March, the AIMPLB and other Muslim groups held a ‘maha dharna’ (massive demonstration) in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijaywada to pressure the TDP on the issue.
Similarly, the board and other Muslim groups held a press conference in Patna on 10 March to draw the attention of the JD(U) toward the issue. Addressing the press conference, the AIMPLB spokesperson slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for supporting the Waqf Amendment Bill describing it as deceiving of Muslims.
