Bihar deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has warned that those opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill would be treated as ‘traitors’ and arrested.
“This is not Pakistan, this is Hindustan. Those who break the law will be arrested. This is the Narendra Modi government,” the BJP leader said on Friday, April 5.
“The Bill is already passed in both Houses of Parliament. Those who oppose the Bill are traitors. Such people should be immediately arrested,” he added.
The deputy CM’s comments come amid resignations of members from National Democratic Alliance partner Janata Dal (United), which is the ruling party in Bihar. JD(U), the third-largest alliance partner of NDA, has supported the Bill.
However, soon after the passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha, at least two persons—Mohammad Qasim Ansari from East Champaran and Nawaz Malik from Jamui—shared letters of their “resignations” on social media, triggering speculations of a crisis in the JD(U).
The two leaders, however, did not explicitly criticise the party leadership for supporting the Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Bogus resignations, terms JD(U) spokesperson
However, JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad maintained that the reported resignations were “bogus” as the signatories “never held any post in the organisation”, and asserted “the party rank and file stands rock solid behind the NDA’s step that will benefit crores of poor Muslims”.
Prasad insisted that “we have credible information that one of the persons enacting the resignation drama is associated with another outfit, while the other had fought the last assembly polls as an Independent”.
“There are many Muslim leaders of standing in the party and if they have any serious misgivings, it will be a matter of concern. But, that is not the situation. There seems to be some design behind the farce that has been going on since yesterday,” Prasad said.
At least two well-known JD(U) leaders – national general secretary Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi and Bihar Shia Waqf Board Chairman Syed Afzal Abbas – had said that the Waqf Amendment Bill passed by the Parliament did not take into account many of the suggestions offered by leaders of the community, when the draft was before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
They, however, did not explicitly criticise the party leadership for supporting the Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Nonetheless, disgruntled elements in the party are of the view that the stance of the JD(U), on which BJP depends for surviving in power at the Centre, could have serious consequences in the assembly polls due later this year.
A JD(U) functionary, who did not wish to be identified, claimed that a meeting of the minority cell which was scheduled to take place on Friday “got cancelled at the eleventh hour out of fear that the chinks in the armour would get exposed.”
(With PTI inputs)
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