Waqf Amendment Bill 'direct assault on Muslims' AIMIM chief Owaisi

    Hyderabad, Mar 28 (PTI) Voicing strong opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday alleged that the Bill is a "direct assault on Muslims" and would strip them of their properties.
    Addressing a gathering here, he questioned how non-Muslims could become members of the Waqf Board, as proposed by the Bill, when only Hindus and Sikhs can be members of temple and gurdwara boards, respectively.
    Wearing a black armband in response to a call by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to protest against the Bill, Owaisi said, "(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is firing bullets at our chest through the Waqf Bill—targeting our mosques and dargahs."
    According to the provisions of the Bill, the district collector can certify that a particular property is not a Waqf property, thereby causing Muslims to lose their claim over it, he alleged.
    "You (Centre) intend to take away the properties of Muslims. This is part of the Hindutva agenda to prevent us from following our Shariat and our religion. We are telling the government that this law is unconstitutional and violates Articles 14, 15, 26, and 29," he said, adding that Muslims "cannot stay silent" on the Bill.
    Targeting BJP allies N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Nitish Kumar (JD-U), Chirag Paswan (LJP-Ram Vilas), and Jayant Chaudhary (RLD), he claimed that Muslims would "never forgive" them for "giving permission" to the BJP to attack Shariat.
    He further asserted that the Bill would not be tabled if these four leaders opposed it.
    Referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s reported remarks that "50 Hindus cannot feel safe among 100 Muslim families", Owaisi countered, saying that "Muslims are not a threat to Hindus, nor vice versa."
    "The real threat to Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and the Constitution comes from the RSS, its ideology, Modi, and Yogi," he charged.
    The objective of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 is to amend the Waqf Act 1995 to redress the issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties.
    Talking about the controversy over comedian Kunal Kamra's jokes on Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Owaisi alleged that Shinde's party members "vandalised" the venue where the comedian had performed.
    He claimed that a 'Baba' (holy man) in Maharashtra behaved "disrespectfully towards Islam but was not arrested."
    However, Shiv Sena members "demolished" the venue because Shinde is the Deputy Chief Minister, he alleged.
    "This is to Yogi and Fadnavis (Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis). Will you demolish the houses of those who demolished the venue?" he asked.
    He alleged that only Muslims' houses were being demolished in various cases.
    Noting that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and BRS MLC K Kavitha have been granted bail in the cases against them, he questioned why Tahir Hussain and Shifa-Ur-Rehman (AIMIM leaders in Delhi) had not received bail.
    Hussain and Shifa-Ur-Rehman reportedly face allegations related to riots and other charges.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)