Secular Constitution Protection Forum speakers demanded TDP and Jana Sena Party (JSP) to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

The Secular Constitution Protection Forum and speakers at a meeting organised by it on Sunday (November 24, 2024) demanded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill.

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Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary K. Ramakrishna said that the proposed bill was a threat to democracy. It was designed to divide the voters on religious lines. The Waqf Bill contains very dangerous amendments, he said.

“The government is asserting that non-Hindus should not be serving in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) while at the same time saying Hindus should be in the Waqf Board, calling it unjust. Home Minister Amit Shah is in a tearing hurry to pass the bill before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report even reached Parliament. The government, which rejected the Sachar Committee recommendations in the past, is now claiming to implement them, raising doubts, he said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao said that the CPI(M) had opposed the Waqf Bill both inside and outside Parliament. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s policies were not favourable to even Hindus and are creating divisions among castes. There was a need for a special law to protect the properties of temples, mosques, and churches, he said.

Former Minister Vadde Shobanadreeswara Rao stated that since the Waqf Board is under the Concurrent List, the opinions of the States must also be considered. “Why is the Election Commission not taking action against leaders who make provocative statements about giving Muslim reservations to SCs and STs?” he asked.

“It is strange for a political leader, who once admired Che Guevara to now speak about Sanatana Dharma,” he said. “Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan should listen to Swami Vivekananda’s speech on religious tolerance.”

Jamat-e-Islami Hind State president Rafiq Ahmad, Ahl-e-Hadith Jamaat State president Fazlur Rahman Umri, Sunnatul Jamaat president Mukhtiyar, Majlisul Ulema president Mufti Younus, Muslim Unity Forum president Jafar Puli, Secular Constitution Protection Forum Vijayawada Urban convener Abdul Mateen, and others spoke.