Protests would highlight the adverse effects of the bill on the rights of the Muslim community; the Waqf issue would prove the BJP’s nemesis, the cleric says
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Influential Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi has come down heavily on the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill for following a “flawed” procedure in its deliberations.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the cleric termed the JPC exercise as a “farce” and said protests against the proposed legislation would be organised to highlight the adverse effects it would have on the rights of the Muslim community.
Maulana Kalbe Jawad, who is also general secretary of the Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Hind, harshly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for advancing the contentious bill. Claiming that the saffron party had mistakenly believed that it would use the Waqf issue to regain the ground it had lost in the 2024 general election.
The press conference was also attended by Shahi Imam Maulana Syed Mohd Qasim Zaidi of the Qanati Masjid in Jor Bagh locality of the national capital, and Anjuman-e Haidari general secretary Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi.
Maulana Kalbe Jawad accused Muslims affiliated with the BJP and RSS of being “keraiye ke tattoo aur ghaddar” (hired ponies and traitors) for their support to the proposed Waqf draft.
He also emphasised the importance of Waqf properties and their special significance in the religious tenets of Islam, as well as the need to protect all existing Waqf properties from the “deceitful and mala fide intentions” behind the Bill and the JPC that scrutinised it.
The cleric claimed that according to the Waqf Bill, any government property identified as belonging to Waqf before or after the amendment would not be considered endowed property
“Any dispute regarding this will be decided by the collector. Pending his decision, the property would not be considered Waqf,” he said citing the case of Lucknow’s Hussainabad Trust. All its properties are being managed by the district magistrate in Lucknow “who himself is involved in usurping Waqf properties,” he alleged.
Sharply criticising the functioning of the JPC, Maulana Kalbe Jawad said that it indulged in fraudulent activities and even refused to acknowledge the lakhs and lakhs of written objections to the proposed Bill filed by the stakeholders. He claimed that the JPC office even blocked the emails of some stakeholders who sought a personal hearing.
“From day one we have called the JPC on Waqf Bill a deceit and eyewash exercise”.
Taking a swipe at the claim of the Union Minister of Minority Affairs that the proceeds from the Waqf would be distributed among the poor, Maulana Kalbe Jawad asked why they do not take out the hidden gold from five lakh temples across the country to distribute among poor Hindus?
He said the BJP was under the wrong notion that by playing on the Waqf issue it can win back the support of Hindus who deserted it during the general election. They (BJP) can please the hardcore Hindus but not the justice-loving people and the Waqf issue would prove its nemesis, he said.
“The government is conspiring to seize Waqf properties, and this will never be accepted,” he declared and accused the BJP-led government of targeting Muslim properties while ignoring those of other religions.
