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Journalism of Courage
The passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill last week by Parliament appears to have put Bihar’s social justice parties that are allied with the BJP in a tight spot. With Assembly elections in the state months away, both the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) have gone into damage control mode, while the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) looks to further consolidate its base among Muslims in the state.
In the backdrop of the JD(U)’s Muslim leaders quitting the party — five have quit in three days — over its support to the Bill in Parliament, the RJD has already launched a campaign to dent the secular image of Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. On Friday, the RJD posted on X a picture of Kumar in RSS uniform, captioning it “Cheatish Kumar”. On Saturday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav announced that if his party came to power, it would “throw the new law into the dustbin”.
Since then, the JD(U) has been issuing statements claiming that the leaders who have quit the party are small or insignificant. The party also had its minority cell hold a press conference on Saturday defending the Bill. However, with even some of its senior Muslim leaders such as former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi and party MLC Ghulam Gous expressing displeasure, the party’s discomfort is apparent.
“The Waqf law has been misunderstood by some of our leaders. It is a progressive law. We are communicating with our leaders and helping them understand. Things will be fine in due course,” JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad told The Indian Express.
The LJP (RV), too, is facing the heat, with some of its district-level Muslim leaders registering their protest. Party chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s estranged uncle and former Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras has expressed his opposition to the Waqf Act, saying it hurt the sentiments of “a certain community”. Paras is the president of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, the other faction of the LJP and has the same voter base as Chirag’s party. As Chirag keeps his position of primacy in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Paras is seen to be getting close to the RJD.
On Saturday, Chirag told the media in Patna, “Main mussalman samaj ke har vyakti se kehna chahata hun ki aapki naraazgi mere sar aankho par (I want to tell every person in the Muslim community that I understand and accept why you are angry).”
He also repeatedly reminded how his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, fought for minorities. “You were cross with even my father in 2014 when he supported the Modi government. You didn’t remember how my father almost finished his party in 2005 by insisting that Bihar should get a Muslim Chief Minister. The truth is that my leader (Ram Vilas Paswan) always fought for social justice with full dedication. I have the same blood in my veins and have been brought up with the same values. Time will tell whether decisions taken by me were in your favour or not,” he said.
The minister said his party had deliberated on every clause of the Bill and insisted on it being sent to the Joint Committee of Parliament. The law was going to help poor Muslims, he emphasised.
Will there be political blowback?
Social Justice parties in Bihar have never played the politics of polarisation and thus have had support among Muslims in various degrees. Both the JD(U) and the LJP have had support among minorities over the years. However, their support base has been consistently declining since 2014 following the advent of the Narendra Modi-led BJP at the Centre.
A senior JDU leader, in fact, insisted that the Waqf controversy would have “zero impact” on the party’s prospects in the Assembly polls.
“We hardly have any support left in the community. Yes, because of our secular politics, the Muslims don’t vote against us with aggression, but they don’t vote for us in significant numbers. In 2014, when Nitish Kumar broke ties with the BJP on the issue of secularism, Muslims didn’t vote for us and we were reduced to just two seats. In the 2020 Assembly polls, the JD(U) gave 11 tickets to Muslims. All lost,” said the JD(U) functionary.
“Despite the fact that Nitish Kumar has not let a single communal riot happen in Bihar in 20 years, has given pension to Bhagalpur riot victims, floated schemes targeting minorities, Muslims now vote strategically to defeat the NDA,” he said.
Another JD(U) leader said these developments might make some difference in certain constituencies. “In a closely contested election, these things can matter. That is why the RJD is aggressive on it with a view to further consolidate its Muslim base. But our understanding is this is not going to be a closely contested election and we have our nose way ahead,” the leader said.
The RJD, however, is betting on this issue to make an impact.
“The support of the JD(U) and the LJP to the Waqf Bill has ripped the mask of secularism off the faces of their leaders. It will have a serious impact on elections. It is not only about Muslims. All those who believe in the Constitution are now convinced that these parties do not respect its values. They can all see the RJD standing with them at this hour,” RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told The Indian Express.
RJD MP Sudhakar Singh suggested that the RJD could build a caste narrative on the issue.
“You are saying that this law will allow representation of backward Muslims and women in the Waqf Board. So, what about the representation of OBCs, Dalits, and women on boards of Hindu temples? When will that justice be done? This is a narrative that will take shape in the coming days,” Singh said.
