The All India Muslim Personal Law Board will protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, March 17 against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The board said that the proposed legislation was a "direct attack" on Muslims and would pave the way for the "usurping" of Waqf properties. "The Muslim community views this Waqf Amendment Bill as a direct attack on the community," the board said in a statement last week.
The protest is scheduled to begin at 10 am. According to a statement released by AIMPLB, the protest will be attended by representatives from the board, leaders of major Muslim religious and social organisations, civil society activists and prominent Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC leaders.
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The Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposed amendments in the Waqf Bill after incorporating changes recommended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The bill amounts to "discrimination" as it calls for having non-Muslim members in Waqf boards and councils when no such provision exists in the management of the endowments of Hindus and Sikhs, said Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, AIMPLB spokesperson.
JPC Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said that Joint Parliamentary Committee and Waqf had called AIMPLB before the whole committee after this amendment. "We had taken cognisance of the things highlighted by AIMPLB before the committee. Not only that, we also made it a part of our report...so why are they going to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi?."
Pal said that poor Muslim family will get benefit after passing this bill. "After the amendment, a better law is going to be formed...poor, women, widows and children will also benefit from this..If they are going to hold a protest against this Waqf bill (amendment), somewhere they are trying to create hatred among people of the country and challenge the Parliament's right to form a law," he added further.
"They are trying to confuse people and create differences...this step taken by them is not democratic," Pal said.