Opposition coalition’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday said that if the INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar, the Waqf (Amendment) Act would be “thrown into the dustbin.”
Waqf Act Will Be 'Thrown Into Dustbin' If INDIA Bloc Voted To Power In Bihar: Tejashwi Yadav
He alleged corruption, poor law and order and neglect of the Seemanchal region under the 20-year NDA rule, promising a Seemanchal Development Authority.
Addressing a public rally in the Muslim-majority Katihar district, Yadav said his father, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, never compromised with communal forces.
"But Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has always supported such forces, and it is because of him that the RSS and its affiliates are spreading communal hatred in the state as well as in the country. The BJP should be called 'Bharat Jalao Party'. If the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state, we will throw the Waqf Act into the dustbin," he said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, passed by Parliament in April, has been defended by the BJP-led NDA as promoting transparency and empowering backward Muslims and women, but the opposition claims it infringes on community rights.
The controversy intensified after RJD MLC Mohammad Qari Sohaib said that if Yadav becomes CM, “all bills will be torn apart, including the Waqf bill,” prompting criticism from opponents questioning a state CM’s ability to alter a central law.
Yadav also criticised the 20-year rule of Nitish Kumar, alleging rampant corruption and a collapsed law and order system. He claimed that the NDA government has neglected the Seemanchal region and promised to set up a Seemanchal Development Authority for its development if elected.
Highlighting what he described as the NDA copying his promises, Yadav said, "We promised an increase in the old-age pension. The Nitish Kumar government increased it from Rs 400 per month to Rs 1100 per month. I promise, we will increase it to Rs 2,000 per month.”
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