AIMPLB protest against Waqf Bill in New Delhi today; ‘Trying to create hatred among people,’ says JPC chairman

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the apex body of Muslim clerics in India, is organising a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill at Jantar Mantar in the national capital today, March 17. The board said that the proposed legislation was a "direct attack" on Muslims and would pave the way for the "usurping" of Waqf properties.

"The Muslim community views this Waqf Amendment Bill as a direct attack on the community," AIMPLB said in a statement last week.

The protest is scheduled to begin at 10 am. According to a statement released by AIMPLB, the protest will be attended by representatives from the board, leaders of major Muslim religious and social organisations, civil society activists and prominent Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC leaders.

“Bill amounts to discrimination”

The Union Cabinet, led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, has approved the proposed amendments to theWaqf (Amendment) Billafter incorporating changes recommended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The approval paves the way for the bill to be tabled in Parliament in the second half of the budget session that began on March 10.

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, said Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, AIMPLB spokesperson.

TheUnion Cabinet, it is learnt, has incorporated most of the changes recommended JPC headed by BJP leaderJagdambika Pal. The panel cleared the bill on January 27, adopting all 14 changes proposed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ledNDAmembers.

Jagadambika Pal, BJP MP and the Chairman of the JPC criticised AIMPLB for its planned protest against the Bill, claiming it could create divisions and challenge Parliament's authority to legislate. Pal said that AIMPLB had already presented its concerns before the committee, and those points were taken into consideration in the report.

“The Joint Parliamentary Committee and Waqf had called AIMPLB before the committee after this amendment. We took cognisance of the things highlighted by AIMPLB before the committee. Not only that, we also made it a part of our report...so why are they going to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi?...after the amendment, a better law is going to be formed...poor, women, widows and children will also benefit from Waqf,” Pal told news agency ANI.

AIMPLB general secretary Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi said that the board tried to convince the government through all democratic means, but their concerns were not heard.

"Now, we have no option but to go on a protest. The government wants to impose this amendment on us at any cost. We do not want the situation to worsen, but you (the government) want conflicts in every street and neighborhood, especially over mosques and cemeteries. We want to see a developed India, but in these circumstances, our dream cannot come true. This amendment is against the country. The government has misled our innocent Hindu brothers as well," Mujaddidi said.

Pal, however, accused AIMPLB of trying to mislead people. "If they are going to hold a protest against this Waqf (amendment), somewhere they are trying to create hatred among people of the country and challenge the Parliament's right to form a law...they are trying to confuse people and create differences...this step taken by them is not democratic," Pal told ANI.

(With inputs from ANI)