Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader, Waris Pathan on Tuesday launched a blistering attack at the Centre over the proposed introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, accusing it of hatching a conspiracy to trouble the minority community.
Speaking to IANS, the AIMIM National Spokesperson stated that the motive behind the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was to grab the property of the Muslim community and deprive them of their rights.
He also hoped that the Waqf Bill falls flat in the House, claiming that the BJP lacks the required numbers to pass the legislation.
“The BJP doesn’t have a majority in Lok Sabha. It will require support of its allies including JD(U), TDP, LNJP, RLD. If the Bill is passed in Parliament, Muslims will never forgive this government. It is unconstitutional and clearly violates the rights of minorities,” he said.
Further buttressing his argument on Waqf properties, he asserted that it is not a government property but has been handed over within the community by ancestors, as charity.
The AIMIM leader also threatened a nation-wide stir over passage of the Waqf Bill, stating that the Muslim bodies like AIMPLB have already vented their ire against the legislation by wearing black bands during Eid celebrations.
Breathing fire at the BJP, he said that it was a well-thought conspiracy by the party to snatch the properties of the Muslims and claimed that the Central government was being complicit in it.
“The idea is not to bring reforms in the Waqf Bill but to destroy the whole concept of landholding by Waqf Boards,” he alleged.
Waris Pathan’s explosive charge over the Waqf Bill comes in the wake of the controversial legislation’s introduction in the House on April 2.
The BJP has already issued a whip to its members in the Lok Sabha and with allies extending ‘conditional’ support to the legislation, it is likely to sail through easily.
–IANS
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