In a move aimed at polarisation of Muslim votes ahead of Bihar assembly elections, opposition parties including Congress, RJD, AIMIM, Left and Prashant Kishor’s newly formed Jan Suraaj Party attended a rally organized by All India Muslim Personal Law Board to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill. A call was given to all Muslims to “boycott” those political parties like JD(U), LJP, TDP, if they support the Bill in Parliament during voting. Muslims were asked not to accept “Saugaat-e-Modi” Eid gift hampers being distributed by BJP. At an iftar party hosted by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, state minister Mohammed Zama Khan alleged that some Islamic clerics are trying to mislead Muslims on the Waqf issue. At the rally, most of the clerics warned that Muslims will “lose control over graves, mosques and madarsas” if the Waqf Bill was passed. The organizers announced that the next protest rally will be held in Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh on March 29. The question is: why was this anti-Waqf Bill rally held in Patna? Those who participated did not hide their political motives. They clearly said that Islamic clerics opposing this law had gone there to “intimidate” Nitish Kumar and his allies Jitanram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan. They had gone to Patna to convey the threatening message that if these leaders did not oppose the Bill and snap ties with BJP, Muslims will not vote for them. More than 18 per cent of voters in Bihar are Muslims. There are 47 out of a total of 243 assembly seats where Muslim vote is the deciding factor. For Nitish Kumar, the combination of Maha Dalits and Muslims had been working successfully in Bihar over the years. Muslims had been supporting Nitish Kumar’s party despite his alliance with BJP. This is the reason why Nitish Kumar, Jitanram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan paid little attention to this threat. On the other hand, BJP leaders are trying to convince Muslims that the Waqf matter is an issue related to only a handful of rich Muslims, and poor Muslims have nothing to do with Waqf properties. The fire is raging from both sides and till the time elections are over in Bihar, this issue may continue to reverberate.from IndiaTV India: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/kQLU9mP
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