• Source:JND
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Waqf Amendment Bill row: Amid the political slugfest between the government and the opposition over the Waqf Amendment Bill, Bihar has emerged as a centre as Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Deputy CM, Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday slammed the government and pledged to scrap the legislation after assuming power in future.

Yadav was in a press conference where he replied to a question saying, "We will form the government and will throw this (Waqf Amendment Bill) in the dustbin..." Like most other opposition parties, RJD has been critical of the Waqf Bill and has called it unconstitutional and a violation of fundamental rights of the minorities. 

Drawing parallel to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC, the RJD leader said, "We had sent a proposal that CAA and NRC will not be applicable in Bihar and the proposal was approved by all."

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Meanwhile, the Janata Dal United (JDU), the political rival of RJD also held a press conference today after reports of infighting surfaced over party's stand on the legislation.

The presser was held by the minorities cell of the party which rejected the reports of rift within and stated that CM Nitish Kumar has neither compromised on the issue of minorities nor will it do so.

During the press conference, party leader Anjum Ara slammed RJD saying that it didn't suggest even one amendment to the bill while JDU made many suggestions that were accepted before final draft was tabled and debated upon. 

He listed the suggestions provided by the JDU which were accepted by the government. These suggestions include:

  1. Land is a state subject, so this priority should be maintained in the new law as well
  2. The new law should not be retrospective
  3. If any Waqf property is not registered, but a religious building such as a mosque, dargah, etc. is built on it, then it should not be tampered with, and its status should be maintained.
  4. An officer above the District Magistrate should be authorized to resolve disputes related to Waqf property
  5. The time limit for digitization of Waqf Board property should be increased by six months, etc. After these amendments, there is no room for doubt.

Notably, the assembly elections in Bihar are scheduled to be held by the end of this year, probably in October-November. There are 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly, which will go to the polls. While RJD and Congress are eying to uproot long established regime of Nitish Kumar, BJP and JDU are looking to put a unified struggle to retain power.

ALSO READ: Waqf Amendment Bill: After Asaduddin Owaisi And Congress, AAP's Amanatullah Khan Challenges Legislation In Supreme Court