JD-U leader Mohammad Kasim Ansari resigns in protest over Waqf Bill

Patna, April 3 (IANS) The Waqf (Amendment) Bill has triggered political turmoil in Bihar, with Mohammad Kasim Ansari, a senior JD-U leader and Dhaka assembly constituency candidate (East Champaran district), resigning from the party in protest.

In his resignation letter addressed to JD-U national president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Ansari expressed deep disappointment over the party’s support for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

“Many people in the Muslim community like me had viewed Nitish Kumar as a flag bearer of secularism, but this belief has now been shattered,” Ansari said.

He further stated, "The way JD-U supported the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has deeply hurt Indian Muslims and party workers like me."

Ansari was particularly shocked and disheartened by the speech of Union Minister Lalan Singh in support of the Bill.

He stated, “The Muslim community is deeply saddened by the manner in which Lalan Singh backed the Bill in the Lok Sabha. The Bill is anti-Muslim and a violation of fundamental rights.”

Ansari declared that Muslims are being humiliated and insulted by the Bill.

He claimed the legislation is particularly harmful to Pasmanda Muslims, but JD-U is failing to recognise it.

Expressing regret over his years of association with JD-U, he said, “I gave many years of my life to this party, and now I deeply regret it.”

He formally resigned from all posts, including primary membership, and sent copies of his resignation letter to JD-U State President Umesh Kushwaha and JD-U District President Manju Kushwaha of East Champaran.

On the issue of the Waqf Amendment Bill, more JDU leaders are drifting away.

Gulam Gaus, a veteran JD-U leader, also seems discontent with the party’s stance.

On Eid-ul-Fitr, he met RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav and discussed the Waqf Bill, signaling a potential shift in his allegiance.

Ansari’s resignation and Gaus’s meeting with Lalu suggest internal cracks within JD-U, particularly among its Muslim leaders and workers.

--IANS

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