Muslim Law Board resumes Waqf stir, calls for ‘Lights Off' protest
After a three-day break in solidarity with the victims of terror attack in Pahalgam, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has resumed its Save Waqf campaign with a little twist.
Instead of holding rallies and public protests like those seen in Patna, Hyderabad, Parbhani and Vijayawada, the Board has opted to hold closed door meetings and protests in stadiums and halls to avoid 'unrest' and 'disturbance' from unruly elements. Fearing violence, this form of limited protest 'to create awareness at the ground level' is likely to be confined to the States ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. In States ruled by the Opposition parties which have opposed the amendments, the Board is likely to continue with its public rallies with mass participation.
The Board has also called for a Batti Gul or Lights Off protest across the country. Beginning 9 p.m. on Wednesday, the Board has asked all citizens to switch off the lights for 15 minutes as a mark of protest against the new amendments to the Waqf Act. 'It is a unique protest. The idea is to involve all people. It is essential to communicate our feelings through silence,' said SQR Ilyas, spokesman of the Board.
Peaceful protest
The Board is going the extra mile in taking all precautions while protesting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in the States ruled by the BJP and its NDA allies. 'We do not want to give a handle to the State government to dub our protests as violent or unconstitutional. We do not want confrontation with any State government. We want our protest to be peaceful but heard in the corridors of power. We cannot keep quiet. We have to make sure the protests are not hijacked by anti-social elements. Whenever we feel the social and political atmosphere is not conducive for the Board, we will not hold any protest on the roads. We want to avoid all violence. We would rather do a conference to highlight our programmes and the way forward in the Save Waqf campaign like we did in New Delhi's Talkatora stadium recently,' said Mr. Ilyas. 'We want citizens of all religions to join the protest as it is to save the spirit of our Constitution and highlight the fact that the law is discriminatory and against the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution.'
More public protests are likely to take place in Malegaon and Jamshedpur. 'We are holding public rallies, as in Parbhani and Malegaon in Maharashtra only if we feel the public is amenable to our way of thinking. Otherwise, we have opted for a limited protest or conference which includes serving a memorandum to the local authorities,' said Mr. Ilyas.
Even as rallies and Batti Gul campaign goes on, the Waqf case is likely to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on May 5.
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