He further said the government should listen to the voice of its people. “People were coming from many districts of UP and Haryana, but now we have received information that their buses are being stopped. We believe that this was a very peaceful protest and the administration should support us in this. The government need not be afraid and they should listen to the voice of the people. If there is such a cowardly government that cannot listen to the voice of its people, then it has no right to rule,” he added.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi also joined the protest. He stated the law was unconstitutional. Owaisi went on to say the law would not protect Waqf
property, adding it would take graveyards, khanqahs and Dargahs away from Muslim communities.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, he said, “Their intentions are bad and they want to increase distances in the country. We are saying that we will protest, if Chandrababu Naidu, Chirag Paswan, Nitish Kumar support it then the public will remember them for life.”
Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi criticised the central government for failing to address opposition concerns, claiming it was ‘imposing dictatorship’. Extending support to the organisations for ‘protesting democratically’, he asked whether the government intended to ‘loot’ the lands of Waqf and “give it to your industrialist friends?”
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Rajeev Rai stated that it was the government’s job to listen to protestors. Speaking with ANI, he said, “Everyone has the right to protest democratically if they do not like what they want and if there is injustice. It is also the responsibility of the government to listen to them with an open mind and open heart.”
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari also reacted to the protest, saying they didn’t agree with what the BJP was doing. “When the JPC was formed on Waqf, we clarified the situation there. When this (bill) comes into
Parliament, we will clarify there, too. We do not agree with what the BJP wants,” Tiwari said.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that Congress opposed the Waqf bill, adding, “We are working with INDIA alliance partners to deal with this in Parliament.”
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal slammed the AIMPLB’s protest, claiming it was purely political and that the act had not yet been implemented. Pal said that a report had only been presented and an amended Waqf Bill had only been introduced. He further questioned, “On what basis are AIMPLB, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, AIMIM or the Opposition leaders gathered at Jantar Mantar?”
“The DM is not going to be given the rights… If there would be any dispute surrounding Waqf’s property, then any official above the DM, like the state secretary or commissioner would see to it… The act is being improved… They are misguiding the nation… Nobody is going to take away the Waqf lands. If someone is selling away Waqf land, then it is people in the Waqf themselves… The amendment will prohibit the selling of Waqf land and will benefit the poor…,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also expressed his views on the protest and said that the amendments were in the interest of the poor Muslims.
“The opposition protesting over this has exposed their real face of doing politics over Muslim empowerment,” he added.
The protest was earlier scheduled to take place on March 13 but postponed due to Holi. On February 13, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tabled its report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in Parliament.
The bill seeks to solve the issues of mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments by introducing reforms like digitalization, enhanced audits, increased transparency and legal measures for reclaiming illegally occupied properties.
