HYDERABAD: Terming the Waqf Amendment Act a “black law”, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday demanded its immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
“We (Muslims) are ready to fight until the Union government withdraws the Waqf Act, just as farmers protested until the three farm laws were repealed,” Owaisi thundered, addressing a public meeting jointly organised by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and AIMIM opposing the amendments to the Waqf Act, at Darussalam in Hyderabad.
“The political forces running the country aim to destroy Muslims. We will never allow this to happen,” the Hyderabad MP said. Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was playing political chess with the lives of Muslims, he said: “We also know how to play.”
Addressing the massive gathering, Owaisi alleged that the BJP-led NDA government wants to dismantle democracy in India, but this can never happen. “We will not bow down. When I tore a copy of the Waqf Bill in Parliament, it was not a personal act, but an expression of the people — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians... Everyone,” he stated.
He said India’s strength lies in brotherhood, not in Narendra Modi.
Confident SC will strike Waqf law down: AIMPLB
“Since the BJP came to power in 2014, it has introduced the Triple Talaq Act, the CAA, and other legislation. The prime minister wants to grab places of worship belonging to Muslims. In 11 years of Modi’s rule, bulldozers have razed the homes of Dalits and Muslims,” the Hyderabad MP charged.
He said: “Ambedkar assured Muslims that there would be no interference in the Shariat. Now, Modi believes he is a greater visionary than Ambedkar. Modi, you are not even the dust of Ambedkar’s feet,” Owaisi said.
Stating that his party was opposed to the Waqf Act, BRS leader and former deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali too demanded its withdrawal. He also called for judicial powers to be conferred on the Waqf Board.
Opposing the Waqf Act, AIMPLB president Maulana Khaled Saifullah Rahmani said he was confident the Supreme Court would strike it down. He too asserted that the Act was unconstitutional. “If, under this Act, the government declares Mecca Masjid is not a Waqf property and namaz cannot be offered there — then what? This Act is against the entire Muslim community.”
Rahmani affirmed that the AIMPLB was committed to protecting the rights of the Muslim community.
“In the name of the Waqf Act, the BJP government is targeting Muslims. Waqf should remain under the control of Muslims. The BRS voted against the Waqf Bill in the Rajya Sabha.” Mahmood Ali recalled that the Supreme Court had questioned the Centre over the proposal to induct non-Muslim members into the Waqf Board. He urged secular Hindus to join the protests against the Waqf Act and urged Owaisi to take the initiative in bringing secular Hindus together.
Mahmood Ali recalled that during the BRS rule, former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao ensured the unity of all sections of society. “No communal violence occurred during KCR’s tenure,” he added. Mahmood Ali said the BRS government had conducted a survey that found Muslims were more socio-economically disadvantaged than SC and ST communities.
YSRCP leader and former MLA Abdul Hafeez Khan said his party had voted against the Waqf Bill in Parliament. He also recalled that the YSRCP had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf Act. “We should unite to protect Waqf properties across the country. The Act contravenes constitutional provisions.”
He alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had failed to keep his promise to oppose any anti-people bill brought by the Modi government. He claimed the TDP IT Cell was spreading misinformation that the YSRCP supported the Waqf Bill in Parliament.
DMK MP Mohamed Abdulla said: “We must understand the working style of Hindutva. When they decided to change the Waqf Law and take control of Waqf properties, they did not act immediately. They began shaping public perception across India two years ago.”
He accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of making anti-Muslim remarks. Abdulla alleged that the Waqf Act is unconstitutional.