BJP says pleas against Waqf Act ‘vote bank interest litigations’

New Delhi: The BJP has criticised several public interest litigations challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act as “vote bank interest litigations”.

   BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that the pleas filed in the Supreme Court by several organisations are “merely an excuse to incite their vote bank and create riot-like situation in the country”.

He told reporters that the only people whose interests will be harmed by the new law is the land mafia which has grabbed Waqf properties. “It seems to be less PIL and more vote bank interest litigation.”

The organisations behind the legal challenge to the Act, including the Congress, AIMIM, and some Muslim outfits, were also behind the allegation that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will snatch the citizenship of Muslims, Poonawalla alleged.

He said that the new law will ensure social justice and the application of Constitution in managing Waqf properties.

Many Muslim bodies and even Christian organisations have welcomed the amendments to the Waqf Act, he noted, asserting that it is not a “Hindu-Muslim” issue.