TCN News Desk
Patna (Bihar): A growing political crisis within Bihar’s Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) has seen yet another resignation over the party’s support for the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, marking the fifth departure of a party leader from its ranks.
JD(U) leader Nadeem Akhtar resigned from the party, citing the outfit’s backing of the Waqf Bill as the primary reason for his departure. This resignation follows those of four other party leaders — Raju Nayyar, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik and Mohammed Kasim Ansari — all of whom expressed their disillusionment with JD(U)’s stance on the bill.
Akhtar’s resignation adds to the growing dissent among the party’s minority leaders, who have strongly criticised JD(U)’s support for the bill, alleging that it betrays the secular ideology that the party has traditionally championed.
JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar had earlier resigned, stating that he was “deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims”. He expressed his disappointment in a resignation letter, also requesting his removal from all responsibilities within the party.
Similarly, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, the state general secretary of the JD(U)’s minority wing, expressed his shock at the party’s decision to support the Waqf Bill. In his resignation letter addressed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he wrote, “I never expected the JD(U) to back the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. I am disheartened by the party’s stance in Parliament. Hence, I resign from the primary membership and all my positions in the party.”
He warned that the party would face consequences in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with an exodus of dissatisfied members expected as a result of JD(U)’s stance on the bill.
JD(U)’s senior leader from Jamui, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik and Mohammad Kasim Ansari, a former JD(U) candidate from Dhaka (East Champaran), have also quit the party.
Ansari’s resignation letter expressed deep disappointment. “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,” it read.
He added, “The way JD(U) supported the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has deeply hurt Indian Muslims and party workers like me.”
The mass resignations reflect a wider sentiment of dissatisfaction within JD(U) over the party’s support for the Waqf Bill, which was passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of Friday after a marathon 17-hour sitting. Aimed at reforming the management of Waqf properties, the bill has been a divisive issue in Indian politics.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders hailed it as a step toward “socio-economic justice” and improving transparency in waqf property management, Opposition parties and many Muslim leaders see it as an attack on minority rights. They argue that the bill is a tool to seize waqf lands and marginalise the Muslim community further under the guise of reform.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had urged secular parties, including the JD(U), to oppose the bill. AIMPLB’s statement highlighted the concerns of the Muslim community about the potential misuse of waqf land under the new provisions.
Several JD(U) leaders, in their resignation letters, have echoed this sentiment, accusing the party of betraying its secular credentials and alienating the Muslim community.
As JD(U) grapples with the fallout from this controversy, the party faces a crucial challenge ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections later this year. The series of resignations has already sent ripples through the political landscape of the state. With more leaders reportedly contemplating their exits, the Nitish’s party could face an even greater crisis in the months to come.