BHOPAL: Wearing black bands on arms to oppose the central government’s Waqf Amendment Bill, many Muslims held pro-Palestine posters in their hands while going to offer Eid-al-Fitr namaz at the Idgah in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on Monday.
Many namazis, particularly youths could be seen holding ‘I stand with Palestine,’ ‘Protect Al-Aqsa, Protect Palestine’ and ‘Al-Aksa is our Pride’ posters while going for the Namaz at the Idgah, to protest Israel’s sustained attack on Gaza.
Around 390 km from the state capital Bhopal, Muslim youths raised anti-Israel slogans and held anti-Israel and anti-Waqf Bill posters while protesting after the Eid namaz in south eastern MP’s Seoni district’s main town.
The Muslim men raised slogans, including, “Gaza ki galiyan sooni hain, Netanyahu khooni hai (lanes of Gaza lie silent, Benjamin Netanyahu is a murderer), Israel-Netanyahu Murdabad, Donald Trump Murdabad.”
The same protestors also wore black bands in arms in protest against the centre’s Waqf Amendment Bill and held posters reading, “Waqf se chedchad, samvidhan se chedchad (tampering with Waqf means tampering with the Constitution).
With the Ramzan and the festival of Eid-al-Fitr over now, the protests against the Waqf Amendment Bill are likely to gather momentum in the state in the coming days and the police will be on its toes, particularly owing to the ongoing nine-day auspicious Navratri period and the coming Hindu festival of Ram Navami on April 6.
Reacting sharply to the black band protests against the Waqf Amendment Bill and the pro-Palestine protest by Muslims before and after the Eid prayers, the state’s cabinet minister and third-time BJP MLA from Narela, Vishwas Sarang said, “Protesting on a holy day against the Waqf Amendment Bill just out of emotions without even reading the details of the amendments, actually exposes the mindset to disintegrate the nation. Why didn’t they wear black bands to prayers when the 26/11 attack happened in Mumbai, when the Pulwama attack took place in Jammu and Kashmir and when minorities were being attacked in Bangladesh? The Monday’s protests are reflective of Congress and Asaduddin Owasi’s mindset. Waqf Amendment Bill is aimed at promoting the cause of poor Muslims, due to which sectarian leaders capturing the Waqf properties are fueling such protests.”
Responding to the minister’s remarks about the protests, the state Congress spokesperson Swadesh Sharma questioned, “Is holding peaceful democratic protests on national and international issues against the law in BJP-ruled MP?”
