Bihar Polls
Katihar/Kishanganj/Araria, Oct 26: If the INDIA bloc is voted to power in Bihar, the Waqf (Amendment) Act would be “thrown into the dustbin”, the opposition coalition’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav said on Sunday.
Addressing back-to-back public rallies in the Muslim-dominated Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria districts, Tejashwi Yadav said his father, Lalu Prasad, the RJD chief, never compromised with communal forces in the country.
“But Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has always supported such forces, and it is because of him that the RSS and its affiliates are spreading communal hatred in the state as well as in the country. The BJP should be called ‘Bharat Jalao Party’. If the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state, we will throw the Waqf Act into the dustbin,” he said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament in April. The ruling BJP-led NDA has hailed the law as a step towards transparency and empowerment for backward Muslims and women in the community, while the opposition has criticised it, alleging that it infringes upon the rights of Muslims.
On Saturday, RJD MLC Mohammad Qari Sohaib stirred a controversy by stating that if Yadav becomes the CM of Bihar, “all bills will be torn apart, including the Waqf bill”, inviting a barrage of attacks from their opposition, who questioned how a central law could be changed by the chief minister of a state.
Without naming Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, Yadav alleged, “Some people are trying to divide votes by fielding candidates forcefully, but people should not pay attention to such candidates.”
He claimed that this election is a fight to protect the Constitution, democracy and brotherhood. (PTI)
