BJP accuses Tejashwi of appeasement politics over Waqf Act 

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) launched a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, accusing him of attempting to mislead the people of Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls. Mr. Pal’s remarks came during a press conference in Mumbai, specifically addressing Mr. Yadav’s recent statement about “throwing the amended Waqf Act in the dustbin.” 

Mr. Pal, who chairs the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, asserted that there is a “competition” between Mr. Yadav and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi to treat Muslims as a “vote bank.” His comments followed Mr. Yadav’s declaration at a rally in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, held under the banner ‘Save Waqf, Save Constitution,’ where the RJD leader vowed that the Opposition alliance would jointly abolish the Waqf Act if elected to power. “The NDA in Bihar is on its way out, and once we form the government, we will consign the Waqf Act brought by the PM Narendra Modi government into the dustbin,” Mr. Yadav had stated. 

Dismissing Mr. Yadav’s remarks as “daydreaming,” Mr. Pal said that the people of Bihar have consistently rejected both him and his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav. He reiterated his accusation that they, along with Mr. Owaisi and the Congress, are engaging in appeasement politics, vying to win over the Muslim community for votes. 

Mr. Pal claimed that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and Asaduddin Owaisi are opposing the legislation, “poor and Pasmanda Muslims across the country support it.” Pasmanda is an umbrella term encompassing Backward, Dalit, and Adivasi Muslims. 

Elaborating on the purpose of the amended Act, Mr. Pal stated that it aims to ensure better management of Waqf properties for the benefit of needy Muslims. He challenged the Congress and RJD to identify any provision in the legislation that would transfer Waqf land from Muslims to others, accusing them of playing with people’s emotions. Regarding Mr. Yadav’s “dustbin” remark, Mr. Pal alleged that the RJD leader is inadvertently supporting those who have illegally encroached upon Waqf land. 

Mr. Pal highlighted that the Narendra Modi-led government is implementing recommendations from the Sachar Committee Report, officially titled “Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India,” which had estimated that Waqf properties could generate ₹12,000 crore annually. He contrasted this with the current realisation of only ₹163 crore, claiming that the unaccounted funds were not reaching the intended beneficiaries, namely “poor, widowed women among others,” but were “disappearing somewhere.” 

He emphasised that the Sachar Committee was formed during the Congress government’s tenure due to the poor socio-economic condition of Muslims. He reiterated that while the committee recommended that Waqf properties could generate substantial revenue, previous governments, including the UPA, failed to implement these recommendations, unlike the current Modi government. This, he suggested, is the real reason for the opposition. Mr. Pal also claimed that the Waqf Bill has been accepted across States, with the exception of West Bengal, where he alleged the Trinamool Congress (TMC) instigated “state-sponsored violence in places like Murshidabad.”  

He emphasised that the amendment ensures transparent management, with all Waqf properties digitally recorded and their details accessible on the Minority Affairs Ministry’s portal. “Waqf property, where the land is in the name of God, has been misused by people to construct a house, mall, etc,” Mr. Pal said.  

He criticised Mr. Yadav for repeating what he termed as “insulting the Constitution,” a mistake he attributed to Rahul Gandhi, whose actions, he claimed, led to his defeat. “The Parliament exists to make laws. If you have objections, approach the Supreme Court. But playing with people’s emotions like this, won’t work, this country runs on law and the Constitution,” he stated.