New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday announced a nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with large sit-ins planned in front of the state assemblies in Patna and Vijayawada on March 26 and 29, respectively, as part of the first phase of the protest.
AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas said leaders from JD(U), RJD, Congress and Lok Janshakti Party, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, have been invited to Patna.
In Andhra Pradesh, he said, invitations have been sent to the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), YSR Congress, Congress and Left parties.
Ilyas expressed gratitude on behalf of the board to all Muslim organisations, civil society groups and leaders from Dalit, Adivasi, OBC and other minority communities.
“Without the grace of Allah and the united support of these groups, the success of the Delhi demonstration would not have been possible,” he said.
He also extended thanks to the opposition parties and members of Parliament who not only participated in large numbers but also firmly rejected the proposed legislation.
The AIMPLB’s 31-member Action Committee has resolved to adopt all constitutional, legal and democratic means to oppose the bill, which it has described as “controversial, discriminatory, and damaging”.
As part of the first phase of the agitation, large sit-ins have been planned in front of the state assembly in Patna on March 26 and Vijayawada on March 29.
The senior leadership of the AIMPLB, along with representatives of national and state-level religious and social organisations, will participate in these demonstrations, a statement said.
Leaders from civil society, prominent personalities from other minority communities and key figures from Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC sections have also confirmed their participation.
Opposition members of the Joint Committee of Parliament will attend the sit-ins.
Ilyas said the purpose of these protests is to send a clear message to the BJP’s alliance partners that they should either withdraw support for the Bill or “risk losing our support”.
The board has prepared a detailed nationwide agitation plan under which protests will be organised in all state capitals.
Major rallies are scheduled to be held in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Malerkotla (Punjab) and Ranchi, the statement said.
The campaign will include sit-in demonstrations, human chains and social media campaigns, especially hashtag drives on X (formerly Twitter), it said.
In addition, public conferences, seminars, symposiums and dharnas will be organised at the district level and memorandums will be submitted to the President of India through district magistrates, the AIMPLB said in its statement.
A prominent Muslim body in Bihar announced on Saturday that it was turning down Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s invitation for ‘iftar’ in protest against his “support” for the Waqf Bill.
The Imarat Shariah, which claims to have followers across Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, shared a copy of the letter in response to the invitation for the ‘iftar’ that is to be held at the chief minister’s residence on Sunday.
The AIMPLB’s statement comes after Parliament’s joint committee submitted its report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Though not listed yet, there is speculation that the proposed legislation could be brought for passage in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session.
The 31-member panel on the Bill, after multiple sittings and hearings, suggested several amendments to the proposed legislation even as the opposition members disagreed with the report and submitted dissent notes.
The 655-page report was submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30.
The joint committee adopted the report that contained changes suggested by members of the ruling BJP by a 15-11 majority vote. The move prompted the opposition to dub the exercise an attempt to destroy Waqf boards.
The Bill was referred to the joint committee on August 8 last year, following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
