Muslims in Bihar are miffed at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his decision to support the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, which was tabled in the parliament on Wednesday. They said that the Bill is not just aimed at usurping Waqf properties in the country but is also aimed at sowing the seeds of discord between various sects of the community.
So far, the community members were under the impression that, if passed, the new law will allow the government to control the Waqf properties by appointing a non-Muslim CEO and giving unlimited power to District Magistrates to decide about any property whether it is Waqf or not.
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But the detailed structure of the Waqf Board under new law, as mentioned by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju in the parliament, shows that this bill has become even more dangerous for the community.
The minister announced in the parliament that now Shia, Sunni, Bohra, backward Muslims, women, and expert Non-Muslims will also be there in the Waqf Board.
It is simply a prescription for chaos in society. There is so much religious divide between Shia, Sunni and Bohra communities that they rarely agree on any particular point. That is why there are separate Waqf Boards for Sunni, Shia and Bohra communities.
Making any arrangement to appoint representatives from every sect of Muslim community on the Board is bound to make every Waqf property controversial, which will pave the way for the government to interfere and make a decision as per their whims and fancies.
Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a strong leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), warned against the catastrophic consequences.
He said that the Waqf Amendment Bill is against the Constitution. Muslims are being targeted through the Bill. This community will die but will not let go of its rights.
The RJD leader further said that if the Bill was for the betterment of Muslim community, the government should have discussed it with Muslim community leaders. Their suggestions should have been included, but this was not done.
Prashant Kishore, the founder of Jan Suraaj Party, said that if the Waqf Bill is passed by the parliament, then Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (United) will be responsible for it. Muslims had a big contribution in making Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister in 2015; today Nitish Kumar is breaking the promise with them.
Amending the Waqf Bill without the consent of the Muslim community will be a violation of the promise made by the founding fathers of the Constitution to protect their rights, he said.
