NEW DELHI: The leaders of Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United or JD(U) went on a resigning spree over their disagreement with the party's support for the passage of the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill in the Parliament.
Not one or two but at least five leaders submitted their resignations as the bill was passed, first in Lok Sabha and then the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The latest to resign from the party was Nadeem Akhtar, his resignation follows that of four other leaders, including JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik, and Mohammed Kasim Ansari.
While Nadeem, Raju, and Tabrez resigned on Friday, Shahnawaz and Mohammaed Kasim Ansari submitted their resignation on Thursday.
Raju Nayyar wrote in his resignation, "I resign from JD(U) after the Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha."
He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, "I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims."
"I resign from the post of former state secretary of JD(U) youth and primary membership of the party. I request to send a letter to the Honorable CM Nitish Kumar and relieve me from all responsibilities," he added.
Meanwhile, Independent MP from Purnia, Pappu Yadav, claimed that the Bihar chief minister and the JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar was not in a good mental state and that he was no longer in control of his party. "Nitish Kumar ji's mental state is not very good at present. In his party, 90 per cent of the leaders are against SC/ST but aligned to the BJP. After 5 PM on the day voting takes place in Bihar, the BJP will no longer need Nitish Kumar.. JD(U) is not in the hands of Nitish ji now," Yadav said while talking to the news agency ANI.
In a letter to JDU national president and Bihar chief minister, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig conveyed strong disappointment, accusing the party of "betraying the trust of the Muslim community."
Meanwhile, Shahnawaz Malik wrote in his letter, "Millions of Indian Muslims like us firmly believed that you stood for a truly secular ideology. That belief now stands shattered."
“Millions of Indian Muslims like us had unwavering faith that you are the flag bearer of a purely secular ideology. But now, this belief has been shattered. Millions of dedicated Indian Muslims and activists like us are deeply shocked by JDU's stand regarding the Waqf Bill Amendment Act 2024,” reads the letter written by Shah Nawaz Malik.
Moreover, Ansari wrote that the Waqf Bill was “against Indian Muslims” and could not be accepted “under any circumstances.”
“This bill violates many fundamental rights of the Constitution. Through this bill, Indian Muslims are being humiliated and insulted. Neither you nor your party realises this. I regret that I gave many years of my life to the party,” he wrote.
However, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad responded to Ansari and Malik's resignations, saying that neither Ansari, from East Champaran, nor Malik, from Jamui, were officially part of the party.
Ansari, in a letter shared on social media, identified himself as the medical cell president of JD(U) in East Champaran and claimed he was a candidate from the Dhaka assembly seat. However, JD(U) did not contest that seat in the 2020 elections. The Dhaka seat was won by BJP’s Pawan Jaiswal, a JD(U) ally.
Speaking to the news agency PTI, Prasad said, "I wonder what to say about things. I have been associated with the party for a long time. I say with full responsibility that neither person has been a part of our rank and file."
He also said, "We admit that some genuine members of our party, like national general secretary Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi, are not very happy with the passage of the Bill. Their grievances will be dealt with at the appropriate level. But those who are coming up with the claim of resignation from the party were never members in the first place."
Earlier on Thursday, Baliyawi and Syed Afzal Abbas, who heads the Bihar Shia Waqf Board, also shared concerns about the Bill. They said that several suggestions made by Muslim leaders during meetings with the Joint Parliamentary Committee were not included. However, they did not criticise the party’s support for the Bill.
Parliament approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a detailed discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 against. It had been earlier cleared in the Lok Sabha, where 288 MPs supported it and 232 voted against the bill.
The Waqf Bill issue is expected to remain active in Bihar until the state assembly elections later this year.
Recently, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) held a protest in Patna, asking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and NDA allies like Chirag Paswan to stop the Bill.
Nitish Kumar has said he follows the ideas of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia and often talks about his record on supporting secular values, even while being a BJP ally since the 1990s.
At a recent event also attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, he mentioned his government’s work for minorities and criticised the RJD, which was in power for 15 years, for failing to prevent Hindu-Muslim clashes despite getting Muslim votes.
The RJD, Congress, and Left parties are expected to raise the Waqf Bill issue during the election campaign to criticise the JD(U) and try to gain the support of Muslim voters for the Mahagathbandhan alliance.
Not one or two but at least five leaders submitted their resignations as the bill was passed, first in Lok Sabha and then the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The latest to resign from the party was Nadeem Akhtar, his resignation follows that of four other leaders, including JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik, and Mohammed Kasim Ansari.
While Nadeem, Raju, and Tabrez resigned on Friday, Shahnawaz and Mohammaed Kasim Ansari submitted their resignation on Thursday.
Raju Nayyar wrote in his resignation, "I resign from JD(U) after the Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha."
He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, "I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims."
"I resign from the post of former state secretary of JD(U) youth and primary membership of the party. I request to send a letter to the Honorable CM Nitish Kumar and relieve me from all responsibilities," he added.
Meanwhile, Independent MP from Purnia, Pappu Yadav, claimed that the Bihar chief minister and the JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar was not in a good mental state and that he was no longer in control of his party. "Nitish Kumar ji's mental state is not very good at present. In his party, 90 per cent of the leaders are against SC/ST but aligned to the BJP. After 5 PM on the day voting takes place in Bihar, the BJP will no longer need Nitish Kumar.. JD(U) is not in the hands of Nitish ji now," Yadav said while talking to the news agency ANI.
In a letter to JDU national president and Bihar chief minister, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig conveyed strong disappointment, accusing the party of "betraying the trust of the Muslim community."
Meanwhile, Shahnawaz Malik wrote in his letter, "Millions of Indian Muslims like us firmly believed that you stood for a truly secular ideology. That belief now stands shattered."
JDU Minority Pradesh Secretary, Bihar, Shah Nawaz Malik resigns from the party and other posts due to the party's stand regarding #WaqfAmendmentBill
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2025
"...Millions of Indian Muslims like us had unwavering faith that you are the flag bearer of a purely secular ideology. But now,… pic.twitter.com/cjQvRKWkWM
“Millions of Indian Muslims like us had unwavering faith that you are the flag bearer of a purely secular ideology. But now, this belief has been shattered. Millions of dedicated Indian Muslims and activists like us are deeply shocked by JDU's stand regarding the Waqf Bill Amendment Act 2024,” reads the letter written by Shah Nawaz Malik.
Moreover, Ansari wrote that the Waqf Bill was “against Indian Muslims” and could not be accepted “under any circumstances.”
Senior JD(U) leader Mohammed Kasim Ansari resigns from the party and all his posts over the party's stand on #WaqfAmendmentBill
— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2025
"...I am disheartened that I gave several years of my life to the party," his letter reads. pic.twitter.com/dCG5JrPk7b
“This bill violates many fundamental rights of the Constitution. Through this bill, Indian Muslims are being humiliated and insulted. Neither you nor your party realises this. I regret that I gave many years of my life to the party,” he wrote.
However, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad responded to Ansari and Malik's resignations, saying that neither Ansari, from East Champaran, nor Malik, from Jamui, were officially part of the party.
Ansari, in a letter shared on social media, identified himself as the medical cell president of JD(U) in East Champaran and claimed he was a candidate from the Dhaka assembly seat. However, JD(U) did not contest that seat in the 2020 elections. The Dhaka seat was won by BJP’s Pawan Jaiswal, a JD(U) ally.
Speaking to the news agency PTI, Prasad said, "I wonder what to say about things. I have been associated with the party for a long time. I say with full responsibility that neither person has been a part of our rank and file."
He also said, "We admit that some genuine members of our party, like national general secretary Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi, are not very happy with the passage of the Bill. Their grievances will be dealt with at the appropriate level. But those who are coming up with the claim of resignation from the party were never members in the first place."
Earlier on Thursday, Baliyawi and Syed Afzal Abbas, who heads the Bihar Shia Waqf Board, also shared concerns about the Bill. They said that several suggestions made by Muslim leaders during meetings with the Joint Parliamentary Committee were not included. However, they did not criticise the party’s support for the Bill.
Parliament approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a detailed discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 against. It had been earlier cleared in the Lok Sabha, where 288 MPs supported it and 232 voted against the bill.
The Waqf Bill issue is expected to remain active in Bihar until the state assembly elections later this year.
Recently, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) held a protest in Patna, asking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and NDA allies like Chirag Paswan to stop the Bill.
Nitish Kumar has said he follows the ideas of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia and often talks about his record on supporting secular values, even while being a BJP ally since the 1990s.
At a recent event also attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, he mentioned his government’s work for minorities and criticised the RJD, which was in power for 15 years, for failing to prevent Hindu-Muslim clashes despite getting Muslim votes.
The RJD, Congress, and Left parties are expected to raise the Waqf Bill issue during the election campaign to criticise the JD(U) and try to gain the support of Muslim voters for the Mahagathbandhan alliance.
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