Key NDA Allies Naidu, Nitish Kumar To Oppose Waqf Bill? Here's What Muslim Board Chief Said

Amid Opposition's dismissal of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) president Khalid Saifullah Rahman on Thursday claimed that key NDA partners -- TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar have assured the Muslim bodies that they would oppose the Waqf bill.

Saifullah made the remarks during a joint press conference of the AIMPLB, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi and other Muslim Organisations. These organisations asserted that they would launch a nationwide movement if the proposed legislation is not withdrawn and exhaust all measures within the boundaries of the law.

"We have met various opponent parties. We also met Chandrababu Naidu, who assured us that 'we will oppose this bill'. We met Nitish Kumar yesterday and he also assured us that 'we will oppose this bill'," Rahmani said.

He added that RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, all have assured that they would oppose the Waqf bill.

Rahmani reportedly did not provide specific details about the meeting with Naidu and Nitish. He said that the Muslim organisations want all secular parties, including the allies of the BJP, to support their stand for the sake of justice and secularism.

"We can't elaborate on that. We have met them. This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue, it is an issue of justice and injustice. So we want all secular parties, including the BJP allies, to support us in view of justice and secularism...We said we have met these people, they have made statements in public also like Tejashwi Yadav," he said.

The AIMPLB president said that Muslim organisations have not received any invitation from the Parliament's joint committee on the Waqf Bill and if they do, they would explain their stance before the panel.

"We have not got an invitation till now. But in case if we are invited, we will go and all our organisations -- All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadees -- are ready for it and will put forward our point of view," Rahmani was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8, following which BJP allies Shiv Sena (Shinde) and JD(U) strongly backed the proposed legislation, while TDP extended its support but called for wider consultation. Lastly, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chose not to speak in the House.

Notably, the bill was referred to a joint parliamentary panel after being introduced in the Lok Sabha amid heated debate with the opposition. The Centre had asserted that the proposed law does not intend on interfering with the functioning of mosques while the Opposition said that it was targeting the Muslims and attacking the Constitution.

Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani, while speaking at the press conference on Thursday, said that proposed changes in the bill were unacceptable and if this is passed it would create a huge discord in the society.

Who can produce Waqf papers of the mosques, which are 400-years-old and other such religious places," Madani asked.

AIMPLB, Jamiat-Ulema Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ahl Hadith and other Muslim organisation -- in their statement -- said that at large, the Muslim community knows and understands that this is a "mischievous" act of the central government.

"On the face of it, the proposed amendments are arbitrary and violative of Articles 25, 26, 29 and 14 of the Constitution. On the contrary, the government is projecting these issues in a very innocent manner portraying as if it is beneficial for the community at large. We totally reject the bill, which has been brought to destroy the waqf properties and pave the way for their encroachment," the Muslim bodies said.

The organisations strongly demanded that the Centre withdraw the Waqf (Amendment) Bill immediately and appealed to the secular parties in the NDA and other opposition parties to never allow for this bill to be passed by the Parliament.

"We will take all legal and democratic measures along with other minorities and all fair-minded people of the country to persuade the government not to press the bill in Parliament," they added.

AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas said their community is completely united and alleged that this bill has been brought to "usurp Waqf properties".

Rahmani slammed the various clauses in the bill and said that it is mandatory for the management and maintenance of Hindu endowments that its members and trustees adhere to the Hindu faith and similarly, the members of the Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee must also be from the Sikh community.

The clause of having non-Muslims in Waqf Board is unconstitutional and illegal, the AIMPLB president added.

He said that the amendments clearly restrict the powers of the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards and pave way for government intervention.

"The proposed bill has given arbitrary powers to the collector and the administration. When the administration is regularly razing the Muslim buildings by bulldozer on mere allegations one can easily guess what will be their attitude to waqf properties," the Muslim bodies said.

Notably, this press conference came on the same day as the first meeting of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The next JPC meeting will be held on August 30.