Considering Muslims as vote bank: Pal slams Tejashwi Yadav over Waqf Law 'scrapping' remarks

Mumbai, July 2 (IANS) BJP MP Jagdambika Pal on Wednesday lashed out at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for his recent remarks about 'scrapping' the Waqf Law if the Opposition alliance comes to power, accusing him of treating Muslims merely as a vote bank.

Pal’s remarks came after Tejashwi Yadav, while addressing a ‘Save Waqf, Save Constitution’ rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Sunday, declared that the Opposition alliance would abolish the Waqf Law if elected.

“The NDA in Bihar is on its way out, and once we form the government, we will consign the Waqf Act brought by the PM Narendra Modi government into the dustbin,” Yadav had said.

Responding to this, Pal told IANS, “Tejashwi Yadav is daydreaming. People of Bihar have repeatedly rejected him and his father, Lalu Yadav. They are using Muslims for appeasement politics. There’s a race between them, Asaduddin Owaisi, and the Congress to appease the community for votes.”

Pal further said, “Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi insulted the Constitution with his actions, and the people of India defeated him. Now Tejashwi Yadav is repeating the same mistake. Bihar’s people will once again ignore such politics. The Parliament exists to make laws. If you have objections, approach the Supreme Court. But playing with people’s emotions like this won’t work — this country runs on law and the Constitution.”

When asked about the implementation of the Sachar Committee’s recommendations, Pal said the committee was formed during the Congress government due to the poor socio-economic condition of Muslims.

“Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar had said that Waqf properties could generate Rs 12,000 crore in revenue, but only Rs 163 crore was recorded. So who benefited? Not the common Muslims — it was the Waqf Board officials. You can see how their properties have grown. Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) never implemented the recommendations, but PM Modi did. That’s why they’re opposing it — because it actually helps poor Muslims,” he said.

Pal also criticised leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi and Mamata Banerjee for opposing the Waqf Act.

“They are misleading the public. If they had genuine concerns, they should have raised them in Parliament or the Supreme Court. But instead, they are misguiding people,” he claimed.

--IANS

jk/rad