"This is being brought to divert attention from main issues": TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha on AIMPLB's Waqf Bill protest

New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha stated Monday that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is being introduced to divert attention from the main issues of unemployment, the Maha Kumbh Stampede, and railway accidents.
His remarks came hours after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) staged a protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
"People are hurt by this Bill... This is being brought to divert attention from the main issues...Today, no one talks about them. They do not want people to talk about unemployment, and the figures of casualties of Maha Kumbh were not given, do not talk about it, railway incidents are frequently taking place, how many people died and got injured, but one should talk about it," the Trinamool MP told ANI.
".... So Hindu-Muslim issues have started.The protests are natural. An impartial meeting should be conducted on this...," he demanded.
Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi also joined the protest.
Owaisi said that their job is to protest because the law is unconstitutional. He added that the law will not save the Waqf property but there are provisions in it which will snatch away the graveyards, khanqahs and the Dargahs from the Muslims.
The AIMIM chief also emphasised that if Chandrababu Naidu, Chirag Paswan and Nitish Kumar will support the act then the people will remember them.
"Our job is to protest because it is unconstitutional. This bill is not for saving Waqf property, not for removing encroachers but for ending Waqf property, for snatching away graveyards, Khanqah, Dargah from Muslims. 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", he said to the reporters on Monday.
Asaduddin Owaisi was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee set up to amend the Waqf Amendment Act led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.
Earlier, the AIMPLB began their protest at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and it was led by member Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas. He stated that it is a peaceful protest and the administration should cooperate with them in it. He said that the government should not be afraid and 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 is 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", Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said while addressing the gathering. (ANI)