Third JD(U) leader, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, resigns over party's support to Waqf Bill

Patna (Bihar) [India], April 4 (ANI): After two Muslim leaders resigned from the party over its stance on the Waqf Bill, another leader from the party, General Secretary of the JD(U) Minority Department, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig also resigned in protest on Friday.
In a letter addressed to JDU National President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Siddiqui expressed deep disappointment, stating that the party had "betrayed the trust of the Muslim community."
The General Secretary of the JD(U) Minority Department, Mohammad Tabrez Siddiqui, wrote in his letter, "I believed that JDU would always stand for secularism, social justice, and the protection of minority rights. But supporting this bill has shaken my faith."
"I never expected that JDU would support this bill. Some people close to your party have brought JDU to such a state that it has deviated from its basic principles. This type of decision has been taken against the Muslim community that supported the party for the last 19 years. This act is a betrayal of the trust of millions of supporters who repeatedly made you reach the post of Chief Minister," the letter said.
Concluding the letter, the leader stated, "My conscience does not allow me to stay in JDU anymore. I am resigning from the party with immediate effect."
This resignation comes at a critical time for JDU, as Bihar gears up for the assembly elections.
Earlier, JDU's Minority State Secretary and Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik announced his resignation through a letter addressed to party president Nitish Kumar.
In the letter, Malik wrote, "Millions of Indian Muslims like us had the firm belief that you are the flag bearer of purely secular ideology. But now this belief has been broken."
He said the way JDU MP Lallan Singh supported the bill in the Lok Sabha has deeply hurt the sentiments of Muslims. "We are deeply saddened by the attitude and style in which Lallan Singh gave his speech and supported this bill," Malik said.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Kasim Ansari in his resignation letter to Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, said that the party's stance on the Waqf Amendment Bill had "deeply hurt" millions of Muslims.
"With due respect, I wish to state that millions of Indian Muslims like me had unwavering faith that you were a true flagbearer of secular ideology. However, that belief has now been shattered. The stand taken by JD(U) regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2024 has deeply hurt millions of dedicated Indian Muslims and party workers like me," Ansari wrote.
The Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, "Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed." The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, has also been passed in the Parliament. (ANI)