Senior Janata Dal (United) leader Mohammed Qasim Ansari has resigned from the party, citing his strong opposition to the JD(U)’s support for the Waqf Amendment Bill. Ansari, who had been a long-time member of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, expressed his deep disappointment, stating that the bill contradicted the principles of secularism that JD(U) once upheld, reported the NDTV.
In his resignation letter, written in Hindi and addressed to Nitish Kumar, Ansari lamented that Indian Muslims, including himself, had placed their trust in Kumar’s leadership, believing in his commitment to secular governance. However, the JD(U)’s endorsement of the Waqf Amendment Bill, he argued, had shattered this trust. He criticized the bill for undermining the constitutional rights of Muslims and asserted that it would lead to humiliation and injustice for the community.
Ansari further expressed regret over his years of allegiance to JD(U), stating that the party’s recent stance had betrayed the values he once believed in.
Meanwhile, JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, defended the Waqf Amendment Bill, claiming that it aimed to bring transparency to the management of Waqf properties for the welfare of the Muslim community. He dismissed allegations that the bill was anti-Muslim, arguing that Waqf properties were trusts rather than religious institutions and that proper regulation would ensure their better utilization.
Singh also accused opposition parties of spreading misinformation about the bill for political gain, emphasizing that the legislation sought to prevent the misuse of Waqf resources.
The Waqf Amendment Bill has sparked a major political debate, with the ruling government pushing for its passage in the Rajya Sabha after securing approval in the Lok Sabha. While the government insists that the bill will benefit the Muslim community, opposition leaders and former allies like Ansari remain vehemently opposed, seeing it as an attack on minority rights.
