Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday, lashed out at the Congress, alleging that the party was instrumental in spreading "vote bank virus" for 70 years. Modi alleged that the Congress even went to the extent of granting powers to Waqf Boards that were beyond the purview of the Constitution. By doing this, previous Congress governments gave advantage to a handful of religious radicals to make money from Waqf properties, and at the same time forced poor Muslim youths to earn their living by "repairing cycle tyre puncture". Modi promised that the new Waqf Act will play a vital role in uplifting the backward and poor sections of the Muslim community. Modi challenged the Congress party to make a Muslim its president. "If Congress truly cares for Muslims, let it make a Muslim party president and give 50 per cent tickets to Muslims in elections", Modi said. The Prime Minister said that land mafia sharks were taking advantage of the old Waqf Act by selling or renting costly Waqf properties. "The new law will plug all loopholes", Modi promised. Unfazed, Congress leaders hit out at Modi. Congress MP from Saharanpur, UP, Imran Masood said, "The day Congress returns to power, we will abolish this new Waqf law within an hour". Masood asked Muslims to pile up pressure on the government by staging protests against the Waqf Act. Another Congress minister in Jharkhand, Irfan Ansari, said the JMM-led government will not allow the Waqf Act to be implemented in the state. JMM minister Hafizul Hasan said that the new Waqf Act was a direct interference in Islamic Sharia law and for Muslims, Sharia is above the Constitution. Former BJP Chief Minister Babulal Marandi demanded that Hafizul Hasan should be dismissed from the government.
Who is inciting Muslims on Waqf issue?
Congress leader in Karnataka, Kabir Khan, has issued a video statement telling Muslim youths that mere protests by holding a banner will not do. He went to the extent of asking Muslim youths to set fire to buses and trains and incite riots. Karnataka Police has arrested Kabir Khan. The video clip went viral on social media last week and police arrested the Congress leader on Sunday night. Kabir Khan is a former Congress councillor of the Davangere Municipal Corporation. One thing is clear from the statements of Congress leaders. The party can go to any extent to pursue appeasement politics. This has done much harm to the Muslim community. Most of the political parties over the decades considered Muslims as a vote banks during elections and after winning polls, they left them to their fate. Of course, there are Muslims who, by dint of their merit and labour, became doctors, engineers, IAS and IPS officers and scientists and excelled in all fields, but they constitute a minuscule. Millions of Muslims are living in poverty. The reasons are not secret. Muslim youths were asked to give priority to religion and they were deliberately kept away from modern education. Muslims were employed in jobs where earnings were less. After becoming Prime Minister, Modi stopped appeasement politics. There was no discrimination against Muslims while implementing government schemes like PDS, house building, medical insurance and electrification. Muslims benefited from these welfare schemes. Modi once said in my "Aap Ki Adalat" show that he wanted to see Muslim youths carrying the Holy Quran in one and a computer in the other hand. Computerization in madarsas began on a massive scale and the number of Muslim students in schools and colleges has registered a steep rise. But, it is also a fact that the gap between Hindus and Muslims has widened in recent years and the walls of hate have been built. Muslims are being shown the bogeys of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Waqf Act. They are being incited by politicians to pile up pressure on the government.
Bengal protests: Did rioters get a free hand?
The communal situation in West Bengal has become serious. Violence has taken place in several places of Murshidabad, Purba Bardhaman and South 24-Parganas. Hundreds of Hindu families fled their homes out of fear from Murshidabad to the neighbouring Malda district. Homes were looted and set on fire by hordes of lumpen elements. Hindu families in Jafrabad and Dhuliyan have left their homes out of fear. They took the riverine Ganga path to take shelter in a government school in Malda. Central paramilitary forces have been deployed in several areas of Murshidabad on the directions of the Calcutta High Court. The violence began during anti-Waqf law protests in Murshidabad, when rioters killed a Hindu father and his son. Homes and shops of Hindus were stoned and attempts were made to set fire. Hindus in Murshidabad are now living in fear. Hindus have alleged that the local police remained silent spectators when arson, stoning and looting were going on. It was only when the BSF moved in that a sense of normalcy was restored, but tension still remains. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee justified anti-Waqf Act protests by saying that it was a democratic right to stage protest, but taking law into own hands is illegal. One point to note: the places where arson and looting took place in Bengal are Muslim-dominated. Hindus living in these areas are being openly intimidated by anti-social elements. Anti-socials struck fear in the minds of Hindus by threatening to mix poison in water tank and to rape women. Those inciting riots know that the state police would not take any action against them. They also know that police would only take token action. These anti-socials are getting support from Trinamool Congress leaders, who say that the violence was carried out by intruders from Bangladesh and BSF was responsible for their intrusion. When Mamata Banerjee says that her government would not allow the Waqf Act to be implemented in West Bengal, such rioters gain courage. For Mamata Banerjee, the 30 per cent Muslim vote is a big vote bank for her party.
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