Political Ripples Of Passage Of Waqf Bill In Parliament Felt Across The Country

By Dr. Gyan Pathak

Passage of Waqf Bill in the both houses of the Parliament of India has immediately created political ripples that was felt across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to Assam. Political parties on both sides – INDIA bloc and BJP led NDA – are trying to derive maximum political mileage out of it, but both sides will have also to readjust themselves to the new challenges that is likely to emerge.

Fist casualty is suffered by JD(U) in Bihar, which is BJP’s NDA ally in the state, which is going to polls later this year. Two senior JD(U) leaders have announced their resignations, and large number of the party’s rank and file among Muslim communities are likely to desert the party since they have lost their faith in the party. JD(U) had supported the Waqf Bill in the parliament.

Senior JD(U) leader Mohammed Qasim Ansari and party’s minority wing’s state secretary Mohammed Shah Nawaz Malik, have written separate letters to JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar and said that Muslims have lost trust in the party, which they believed earlier that it was a secular party.

Shah Nawaz Malik wrote, “Millions of Indian Muslims like us had unwavering faith that you are the flag bearer of a purely secular ideology. But now, this belief has been shattered. Millions of dedicated Indian Muslims and activists like us are deeply shocked by JDU’s stand regarding the Waqf Bill Amendment Act 2024.”

Mohammed Qasim Ansari wrote that the Waqf Bill was “against Indian Muslims” and could not be accepted “under any circumstances” adding that “This bill violates many fundamental rights of the Constitution. Through this bill, Indian Muslims are being humiliated and insulted. Neither you nor your party realises this. I regret that I gave many years of my life to the party.”

Though, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad tried to downplay the resignations by saying that they were not in the party’s official structure, no one can deny that party’s minority support base is most likely to desert JD(U). The matter does not stop here, since another NDA ally Chirag Paswan led LJP(RV) may also lose its minority support. If it happens, NDA stands to lose considerably in Bihar.

RJD and Congress may be gainer in Bihar, they are currently part of the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar, which is INDIA bloc at national level. Desertion from LJP and JD(U) is only to increase their respective political strength in the state. The caste politics in Bihar, and INDIA bloc’s demand for OBC reservation may also have additional impact, since they believe that Nitish Kumar have sold himself to the BJP which has been continuously opposing the caste census in the state, though it was done under the Chief Ministership of Nitish Kumar, after which he switched over to BJP by deserting the RJD.

Other important NDA allies TDP and JSP in Andhra Pradesh have already started feeling the heat against them. Both of them have supported the Waqf bill, while the chief opposition political party YSRCP has condemned the bill saying it violated constitutional guarantees and minority rights.TDP and JSP both are facing the risk of losing their minority support base on this account.

In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin is one of the strongest critics of Waqf bill. He came in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on April 3 wearing a black badge against the passage of the Bill. He has also announced that his government will challenge the Bill in the Supreme Court of India. He also said how BJP government both at the Centre and the states are targeting the minority Muslim community. Tamil Nadu will also be going to poll next year.

While entire INDIA bloc was in opposition to the Waqf Bill, the BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Amendment brought by UPA government in 2013 was “extreme” and another “appeasement” exercise. Prime Minister of India called the passage of Waqf bill a watershed moment, and claimed that it would help marginalized Muslims.

BJP thus not only pushed its Hindutva politics for greater Hindu polarization in favour of the BJP, but also is trying to gain some favour by dividing the Muslim community themselves emphasizing that the new bill is for the benefit of the marginalized Muslims.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a scathing attack on the government for passage of Waqf Bill. “Our Party’s position is clear – the bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is part of the BJP’s deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarization,” she said, adding that BJP is “dragging the country into an abyss where out Constitution will remain on paper.”

Congress even plans to challenge the Constitutionality of the Waqf Bill in the Supreme Court of India.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav warned about the political impact of Waqf Bill on India’s secular image.

Though BJP believes to gain from the Waqf politics by way of polarizing more Hindu votes against their favour, their allies in NDA are facing the risk of losing their minority support base. Without allies, BJP is also facing the risk of losing its strength, especially when their survival at present depends on coalition politics.

Entire INDIA bloc was seen united in the parliament in opposition to Waqf Bill, which opens the way of joint political fight against the BJP-RSS dominance in the country.

The country may expect political churning in 2025 as a follow up of the passing of the Waqf ( Amendment) Bill in both houses of Parliament. (IPA Service)