14

Apr

Waqf Act: Two-way Pressure On JDU Muslim Leaders

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Sami Ahmad

New Delhi | Monday | 14 April 2025

Muslim leaders of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) are under immense pressure over the controversial Waqf Act 2025 from two sides. On one hand, Muslim organisations and common Muslims are asking them to oppose the Act and resign from JD(U). On the other hand, JD(U) leadership is putting huge pressure on them to go to the Muslim masses and ‘convince’ them the party line, i.e., the Waqf Act 2025 is ‘for the good of the Muslim community.’

The JD(U)’s Muslim leaders are peeved at this situation, and they privately concede that the party line on the Waqf Act 2025 is ‘inexplicable’, but they dare not to displease their leadership. The biggest problem with them is that, reportedly, they are not in a position to communicate directly with Nitish Kumar to convince him that JD(U)’s stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is utterly unacceptable to the Muslim community. It is alleged that Nitish Kumar is surrounded by such leaders who are quite inclined to the Hindutva policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and not allowing those who want to have a one-to-one talk with party chief Nitish Kumar.

After the uproar of the Muslim community over the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which later became an Act, the JD(U)’s Minority Cell called a press conference on April 4 to defend the party’s stand on it.

The press invitation mentioned that Ashraf Ansari, state president of minority cell will address the press in the presence of several Muslim leaders of the party including MLC Ghulam Ghaus, MLA Afaque Ahmad Khan, MLC Khalid Anwar, Ex MP Ahmad Ashfaque Karim, Ex MP Kahkashan Parween, Ex Deputy Chairman of Bihar Legislative Council Salim Parvez, Sunni Waqf Board’s chariman Mohammad Irshadullah, Shia Waqf Boards’ chairman Syed Afzal Abbas, state spokesperson Anjum Aara, Minority Cell incharge Iqbal Haider Khan and two other senior leaders.

Article at a Glance
Muslim leaders within Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) are facing significant pressure regarding the contentious Waqf Act 2025. On one side, Muslim organizations and constituents demand that they oppose the Act and resign from the party, while JD(U) leadership insists they promote the Act as beneficial for the Muslim community.
Many leaders privately criticize the party's stance but feel unable to communicate their concerns to Kumar, who is reportedly influenced by pro-Hindutva elements. A recent press conference aimed at damage control further alienated the Muslim community, as leaders avoided questions and failed to address key concerns.
Notably absent from the conference was Zama Khan, the only Muslim MLA in JD(U.), who had previously opposed the Act. Observers suggest that symbolic gestures, like an "Eid Milan" event, will not suffice to quell the community's discontent, which demands a complete rejection of the Waqf Act.

Incidentally, the minority welfare minister Zama Khan’s name was not on the list of the Muslim leaders to be present in the press conference. Before the passage of the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Zaman Khan had opposed it and had claimed that Nitish Kumar would take a decision that would be ‘in the interest of the Muslim community.’

Nitish Kumar did not take any such decision, and the stand taken by JD (U) MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh was approved and repeated in the Parliament. It is worth mentioning that Zaman Khan was elected to the Bihar Assembly on a BSP ticket, but he was taken to JD(U) as Nitish Kumar’s party had no Muslim MLA, and he is the only Muslim MLA and minister in the NDA government.

JD(U)’s Muslim leaders are quite upset with Lalan Singh for his speech in the Lok Sabha, which ridiculed those who were opposed to the Bill. They say that his speech was embarrassing and contrary to the spirit of Nitish Kuma’s secular image, which has been tarnished in the last couple of years. But the problem is that they cannot speak against Lalan Singh openly.

MLC Ghulam Ghaus too had vehemently opposed the controversial Bill and went to the extent of suggesting that the Muslim community was being forced to hit the roads. But, after the passage of the Bill, he was either asked to keep silent, or so he chose. Afzal Abbas, the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, is also a JD(U) who opposed the Bill, saying that the Waqf Bill was unacceptable. But he too has been made to stop publicly opposing the controversial Waqf Act.

Ahamad Ashfaque Karim was in the news for his ‘barging into Imarat-e-Shariah, the most prominent Islamic organisation of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha as the Imarat, under the banner of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, has openly criticized the stand taken by Nitish Kumar.

Imarat was at the forefront in giving a call to boycott the Iftar party of Nitish Kumar. Ashfaque Karim is a member of JD(U), and he was also a trustee of Imarat. It was alleged that he tried to start a ‘coup’ in Imarat to dethrone the current leadership and impose the Maulanas of his choice.

One prominent missing Muslim leader in the press conference list was the former Rajya Sabha member of JD(U) Ghulam Rasool Balyavi, who is also head of Idara-e-Shariah, not to be confused with Imarat-e-Shariah. Though he is not clear about his position in JD(U) but he seems firmly opposed to the controversial Waqf Act. He has announced that Idara-e-Shariah will oppose the Act through all democratic means.

The press meet was organised as a damage control measure by these Muslim leaders, but many people believe that it damaged the party’s image among the Muslim community further as not a single question was taken by the leaders who were present in the press conference.

When one journalist raised a question about whether those suggestions included the inclusion of two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board, the leaders simply walked out of the press conference. At the start, Anjum Aara, the spokesperson, claimed that five ‘suggestions’ of JD(U) were accepted in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill; hence, ‘the party’s stand on this was justified’.

Privately, no JD(U) Muslim leader was comfortable with the party’s stand on the Waqf Bill, and the most talked about Muslim MLC of JD(U), Khalid Anwar, later in his interviews, conceded that the ‘opposition’ was successful in setting up their narrative.

Khalid Anwar later organised ‘Eid Milan’ which was attended by the chief minister Nitish Kumar and the Taj Mahan background of the venue was an indication to try woo back the Muslim community. Observers say that it is unwise of the JD(U) to think that the ire of the Muslim community will subside with such symbolic but empty gestures. They want complete rejection of the controversial Waqf Act.

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