Thousands Gather In India’s Major Cities To Protest Against Waqf Amendment Bill
Thousands of protesters took to streets in several cities across India, including, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and others to protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed by the Parliament this week.
Muslim organisations, under the banner of Joint Forum for Waqf Protection took to streets in Kolkata to voice their opposition to the Bill, that now awaits President Droupadi Murmu’s assent to become an act.
As per the visuals shared by news agency ANI, the protestors held the placards which read, ” We Reject Waqf Amendment Bill” and, “Reject Waqf Bill”. “No matter what happens, we will reclaim our rights in any way,” they chanted.
Protests were also held in Ahmedabad and authorities had heightened the security ahead of Friday prayers after the Bill was passed. A video shared by the news agency showed police trying to forcibly remove protestors occupying the road. Reportedly, the police detained the AIMIM’S state unit chief and 40 of its members.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Lucknow where the protestors held protests against the Bill.
Additionally, actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had announced a statewide protest. TVK workers gathered in Chennai and cities like Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli, and raised slogans like ‘reject the Waqf Bill’ and ‘do not take away Muslims’ rights’.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Lucknow), Ashish Srivastava said, “We are in contact with everyone. We have asked them to make an opinion only after reading the whole Bill. We are monitoring social media constantly…We are organising foot march and route march…”
Opposition MPs Move SC
Meanwhile, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf Amendment Act, claiming it is discriminatory towards Muslim community and violating their fundamental rights.
Jawed, who was one of the members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Bill, has claimed in the petition that the act violates Article 14 (Right to Equality), 25 (Right to Freedom to Practice Religion), 26 (Right to Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs), 29 (Minority rights) and 300A (Right to Property) of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Owaisi has challenged the amendments in the Bill on the grounds of violation of the fundamental rights of the Muslim community.
Waqf Amendment Bill Passed By Parliament
The Waqf Amendment Bill cleared its legislative hurdle, passing in the Parliament after two days of intense and marathon debate. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju had introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The discussion witnessed staunch objections from opposition parties, which termed the Bill “anti-Muslim” and “unconstitutional” with the government responding that the “historic reform” would benefit the minority community.