New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to run a nationwide awareness campaign on the new Waqf law.
A workshop was organised by the party at its headquarters in New Delhi Thursday. Addressing the workshop, party president J.P. Nadda said that the BJP will run a ‘Waqf Sudhar Janjagran Abhiyan’ across the country at state, block and mandal levels from 20 April to 5 May.
The workshop was organised in view of the Opposition’s protest against the new Waqf Act, so that party leaders can spread “correct and factual information” regarding the law via various forums and door-to-door programmes.
The party has also constituted a four-member central panel to oversee the programmes aimed at making the Muslim community aware of the benefits of the new law. Party leaders Anil Antony, minority morcha national chief Jamal Siddiqui, Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, and general secretary Dushyant Gautam, are part of the panel.
“The Congress and its allies, who have been misleading our poor Muslim brothers and sisters for a long time, are suffering from the politics of appeasement. An attempt is being made to mislead the Muslim community regarding the Waqf Act. This awareness programme is aimed at exposing the lies of the Congress and its allies, and make our Muslim brothers and sisters aware of the truth and benefits of this law,” Yaser Jilani, national media in-charge of BJP’s minority morcha, told ThePrint.
According to party sources, a special focus of the awareness drive will be on the Pasmanda community and Muslim women. “This will particularly help those who have long remained on the margins, thus being denied both voice and opportunity. This especially protects and will benefit the interest of Muslim women, poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims. The legislation passed by Parliament will boost transparency and safeguard people’s rights,” reads a letter by BJP general secretary Arun Singh to party leaders.
As part of the plan at the state level, townhalls will be held at important locations by inviting clergy, doctors, artists, lawyers, academicians, women activists, media personalities and social media influencers from the Muslim community and other communities.
The party has also planned to organise “Isai Sadbhav Meeting” with members from the Christian community across the country. “It has also been directed that women’s townhalls with influential women leaders will be organised,” said a senior party leader.
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‘Waqf has nothing to do with religion’
According to a BJP leader, the workshop was meant to ensure that they could raise any questions they had regarding the law before heading out to inform people about its positives.
Sources said that a number of party functionaries raised concern over the clause of “practicing Islam” in the new Act. According to a provision in the Waqf Act, only those who have been “practising Islam for five years” can give their property for charitable use.
“We asked (Kiren) Rijiju ji how we will justify this provision when we go out to make our own community members aware of the new law which, of course, is for their benefit, but this clause puts doubt in everyone’s mind. Even a young child will say she/he is a practicing Muslim. How can someone else decide that? We didn’t get a satisfactory response, but we have been told to focus on other positives of the Act,” said a party functionary.
Another party leader said that during the workshop, emphasis was laid on the fact that while Opposition leaders have been claiming that the law has been brought in a haste, “detailed discussion” was held during the joint parliamentary committee meetings as well as the Parliament sessions, which went on till late in the night.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act came into force on 8 April, with protests held in many districts of West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has refused to implement the law in the state.
Another party leader told ThePrint, “During the workshop, party workers were informed how some senior Muslim Congress leaders had abused the Waqf law to grab prime land. In the next few days, more details will be shared along with proper documents so that the workers can go to the people and expose them.”
A leader added: “Not just Muslim leaders, there are a few Hindu Congress leaders who have used Waqf to grab land. This is also one of the reasons that we want to highlight that Waqf law is about management of properties and has nothing to do with religion. This is also why non-Muslim members are being accommodated as a lot of Waqf land belongs to Hindus.”
Janata Dal (United) Chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Jayant Chaudhary, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, and other allies played an important role in getting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed in Parliament.
“Muslim voters are important for these allies, and with Bihar elections just round the corner, it became all the more imperative to stop the misconceptions and propaganda being spread by the Opposition. This outreach programme will help disseminate the true picture as to how poor Muslim families, especially women are going to benefit from this,” said a party leader.
“The party is aware of the fact that protests were held when Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed, and preempting such moves, especially with statements like the one by West Bengal CM, it became important to launch the awareness programme at such a mass level.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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