Public Meeting Against Waqf Act On April 19: Owaisi

AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi today announced that a public meeting would be held in Hyderabad on April 19 demanding the withdrawal of the controversial Waqf Amendment Act.

He said that the meeting would be conducted under the auspices of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and attended by religious and political leaders from across the country.

Owaisi said that Muslim leaders from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of the country would participate in the meeting.

He alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre had introduced the Waqf Amendment Act in violation of the Indian Constitution, and that the Union government was attempting to seize Waqf lands by undermining Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

He also criticised the BJP-led NDA government for drafting the Waqf Amendment Bill with the support of allied party leaders such as Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, Jayant Chaudhary and others, and accused them of acting against the interests of the Muslims in the country.

"According to the Waqf Amendment Act, they are trying to legitimise illegal possession of Waqf lands. However, provisions like Section 3D and the ASMR Act would lead to gross injustice against Muslims. Section 2 of the Act is also being misused to further marginalise the community," he said.

Owaisi alleged that the BJP was also falsely claiming that Waqf lands were not in use.

"The BJP government running Delhi has already written to the Waqf Board asking it to relinquish 120 of its properties in the city. This move threatens to alienate numerous mosques and dargahs from the Board," he said.

He also accused Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of double standards for supporting the Waqf Bill which stated that non-Muslims could be members of Waqf Boards, while simultaneously advocating that only persons of the Hindu religion could be employed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.

Owaisi reiterated that Muslims would never accept the amended Act, and asked them all to attend the public meeting in large numbers.