Bihar: Opposition parties protest outside Bihar Assembly over Waqf Bill and revised quota inclusion

RJD leaders were seen holding posters that read, "We reject the Waqf Bill and strongly oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill."

Speaking to ANI, RJD MLA Mukesh Kumar Yadav said, "The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 is a contraindication against a specific person and community... The government wants to hand over the Waqf properties to some industrialists... Just like railways and airways were privatised, it wants to hand over all the properties of the nation to some private institutions... RJD and opposition are against this Bill and if it is passed in the Parliament, RJD, under the leadership of Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, will not let it be implemented on the ground level... We fight for the rights of every community... Therefore, we want inclusion of Bihar's 65% reservation in the Ninth Schedule of the constitution..."

He accused the government of attempting to hand over Waqf properties to industrialists, drawing a parallel to the privatization of railways and airways.

Yadav emphasized that RJD and the opposition strongly oppose the bill, and if it is passed in Parliament, under the leadership of Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, the party will ensure it is not implemented on the ground level. He also called for the inclusion of Bihar's 65% reservation in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, stating that RJD fights for the rights of every community.

Congress leader Ajit Sharma said, "Waqf (Amendment) Bill should be taken back... Corruption in Bihar is at its peak and all the authorities must be investigated... There should be strict action against corruption..."

RJD leader Bhai Virendra said, "He wouldn't have given this statement, and this remark must be an altered one... There are a lot of looters in the state, the CM of which is mentally ill..."

Earlier on Wednesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav joined the protest organized by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

Addressing the protestors, Tejashwi assured them that his party and its leader, Lalu Yadav, firmly stand with them in their fight against the "unconstitutional" Waqf (Amendment) Bill. (ANI)