"Part of a well-thought-out strategy": Jagdambika Pal criticises 'black-band' protests over Waqf Bill

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 1 (ANI): The Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairman on Waqf Amendment Bill and BJP MP Jagadambika Pal on Tuesday criticised opposition parties for "always considering Muslims as their vote bank" and said their support to the black band protest of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) was appeasement politics.
Speaking to ANI, Pal hoped that the bill would be passed in the Parliament if it comes as it will "benefit" poor Muslims and the Pasmandas.
Speaking to ANI, Pal stated, "Be it Congress, Samajwadi Party, Owaisi, TMC or opposition parties, they always consider Muslims as vote bank. In the politics of appeasement, these people are standing with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)... They (AIMPLB) have decided from the beginning that they will oppose this bill... We hope that the bill will be passed because it will benefit poor Muslims and Pasmandas."
The JPC Chairman also slammed the AIMPLB over the 'black band' protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill stating that this protest was part of a "well-thought-out strategy" and accused them of misleading people through "lies."
He said, "I think this protest is somewhere part of a well-thought-out strategy. The way All India Muslim Personal Law Board said on Eid that people should wear black bands, yesterday was a day of worship but All India Muslim Personal Law Board made this holy day a day of politics... If you want to protest or do politics, do it on Jantar Mantar. You went to Patna to pressurize Nitish Kumar. You are going to Vijaywada. Owaisi is saying he wore black bands on the order of AIMPLB... People are being misled by telling lies, especially in the holy month of Ramzan."
Pal assured that the government's intention is to bring a transparent bill and fulfil the motive of Waqf Board that is to help and work for the welfare of the underprivileged, women, children, poor.
"Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has been continuously saying that we are ready to discuss the bill and he has appealed to the opposition that they should discuss it in the House. Instead of passing the bill directly, the government itself has requested the Speaker to form a Joint Parliamentary Committee on it. Meetings were conducted with every stakeholder, officials of state governments, Sunni Waqf Board, Shia Waqf Board, Islamic Scholars, Minority Commission.
"After that the Committee toured the whole nation, whether Patna, Lucknow, Mumbai, Guwahati, Chennai, etc. Still after this, people are misled that mosques, eidgahs, crematorium will be gone. What do they want? Do they want to create instability in the country? What kind of conspiracy is this? The government's intention is to bring a transparent bill and fulfil the motive of Waqf Board that is to help and work for the welfare of the underprivileged, women, children, poor..." the BJP MP stated.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, also called the 'Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) Bill', aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. (ANI)