RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday strongly opposed the recently passed Waqf Bill, declaring that it would be “consigned to the dustbin” if his party came to power in Bihar.
Speaking at a press conference, the Leader of the Opposition and former Deputy Chief Minister confirmed that the RJD had also joined the petitioners challenging the bill in the Supreme Court. Yadav criticised the ruling JD(U), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for trying to present the Bill as beneficial to the Muslim community.
He alleged that the JD(U) had coerced its Muslim leaders into defending the Bill during a press conference that ended in a fiasco, as most senior leaders refrained from speaking and swiftly exited without answering questions from the media.
Yadav, whose party office is located just across the street from the JD(U) press briefing venue, took a swipe at the ruling party, suggesting sarcastically that images of CM Nitish Kumar in their office would soon be replaced with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He claimed that even children knew what would happen to Kumar post-elections. The RJD leader maintained that his party had opposed the Bill in both Houses of Parliament, stating that it violated Article 26 of the Constitution, which ensures the right to manage religious affairs independently.
He asserted that the Bill was designed to distract citizens from key issues like unemployment and was part of the BJP’s strategy of religious polarisation.
Yadav assured that the Waqf Bill would not be implemented in Bihar under an RJD-led government. He further claimed that today Muslims were being targeted and tomorrow it could be Christians and Sikhs. He accused the BJP and RSS of harbouring hostility toward religious minorities and socially backward communities, including Dalits, tribals, and OBCs.
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Referring to his tenure in government, he said quotas for deprived communities were raised to 65%, but the move was struck down by the Patna High Court based on petitions filed by BJP supporters. Since CM Nitish Kumar had failed to protect the rights of these groups, the RJD had stepped in and become a party in the case before the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan dismissed the opposition’s criticism, accusing them of constructing a “fake narrative” around the Waqf Bill for vote-bank politics.
He compared it to past controversies involving the CAA, Article 370, and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, insisting that none of these measures had harmed the Muslim community. Paswan stated that the Waqf Bill’s amendments would not apply retrospectively and would not affect existing Waqf properties.
Instead, the amendments would assist Muslim citizens currently entangled in disputes with Waqf Boards. He maintained that the opposition was merely pursuing its own political agenda.
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