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While welcoming the Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s move to send the Waqf Amendment Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for scrutiny, the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), a key BJP ally, has proposed an elaborate plan for the development of the Waqf properties besides ensuring welfare and uplift of the Muslim community in Bihar.
The Nitish government has proposed to construct multipurpose buildings for wedding and other community purposes on undisputed Waqf land registered under the Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards in different parts of the state.
The Nitish-led NDA government has also planned to undertake an anti-encroachment drive on the Waqf land in the state to ensure their proper development.
State minority welfare minister Zama Khan said the government was looking to “identify all problems related to Waqf land, including its illegal sale and purchase, disputes and encroachments” to ensure the protection of the Waqf properties and assets.
“We are also planning to construct multipurpose buildings for wedding and other community purposes on Waqf land,” he said.
The government has also decided to set up a resident school for Muslim children in each of the state’s 38 districts in phases. It has announced the proposal to establish 21 new madrasas in various parts of the state, too.
The minister said the government has already been working on a “comprehensive roadmap” for minority welfare, which include various programmes for strengthening their education system, modernisation of madrasas, promotion of Urdu language, and the development of several minority institutions.
All these schemes are being carried out by the minority welfare ministry.
Khan said the vacant positions of Urdu teachers in schools and madrasas would be filled soon. “We have decided to open a residential school for Muslim students in each of 38 Bihar districts in phases. In 2024-25, such a residential school would be opened in Nalanda, Jamui and Kaimur,” he said. Nalanda is Nitish’s home district.
“Under the coaching scheme for Muslim students, 15,216 students have benefited so far. Of them, 5,096 students have qualified in several competitive examinations. The government had increased one-time assistance money for a divorcee Muslim woman from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 a few years ago,” Khan said.
The development of the Waqf premises will be implemented under the Bihar Rajya Waqf Vikas Yojana, the minister said, adding that the new madrasas would be set up under the Bihar Rajya Madarsa Sudhrikaran Yojana (BRMSY).
Under the BRMSY, various amenities such as drinking water, toilets, libraries, equipment, and computer science labs are provided for strengthening the madrasa infrastructure in the state.
The JD(U) dispensation’s move to showcase its various projects and schemes for the Muslim community comes close on the heels of the party distancing itself from the stance taken by its Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in support of the Modi government’s contentious Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha.
During the discussion on the Bill in the House last Thursday after the government tabled it, Lalan said it would bring “transparency” in the functioning of the Waqf Boards and that it was not “anti-Muslim” or “an attempt to interfere with the running of mosques”.
On Friday, however, Bihar parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, a senior JD(U) leader close to Nitish, openly took a different position while welcoming the government’s eventual decision to send the Bill to a Joint Committee following fierce resistance from the Opposition parties and some concerns from the NDA allies like the TDP and the LJP(RV).
JD(U) sources said that Lalan’s statement on the Bill “created confusion in party rank and file” and finally it was left for the CM House to clear the air.
When asked about Lalan’s support for the Bill in its “current form”, Vijay Chaudhary maintained that “the apprehensions of the minority community about the Bill must be addressed before it is finalised”, adding that “It has been the stated stand of the party to deal with issues concerning minorities with sensitivity”.
Echoing Chaudhary’s stand, which is seen as the JD(U)’s official position on the Bill sent to the joint House panel, Zama Khan said, “Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is concerned about the sentiments and welfare of minorities in the state. Whatever is decided will certainly be in the interest of the (Muslim) community.”
The CM House was said to have asked the minority welfare minister to highlight Nitish’s commitment to ensuring the welfare and development of the Muslim community while addressing its various concerns.
When asked about the JD(U)’s renewed bid to reach out to the Muslim community, which accounts for 17% of the state’s population, a BJP leader said: “NDA government has been talking about its various ongoing schemes. Each government department has a right to publicise its schemes from time to time. But one is free to read political meanings into it.”
