Srinagar: The controversy surrounding the Waqf Bill in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has intensified, with senior leaders from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) criticizing the government and the National Conference (NC) for failing to oppose the legislation.
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressed her disappointment over the rejection of a motion to debate the bill in the J&K Assembly. She accused the government of caving in to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) agenda, suggesting that it was attempting to appease both sides rather than standing up for the people. She pointed to Tamil Nadu’s decisive opposition to the bill as an example J&K’s leadership should have followed.
“It’s profoundly disappointing that the Speaker of the J&K Assembly has rejected the motion on the Waqf Bill. Despite securing a strong mandate, the government appears to have completely yielded to the BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda,” Mufti wrote in an X post, adding that it was alarming that J&K’s only Muslim-majority government lacked the courage to even debate such a crucial issue.
Similarly, PDP MLA Waheed Para, in his own post on X, took aim at the National Conference, accusing it of consistently surrendering on key issues, including Article 370, statehood, and now religious matters. He criticized NC MLAs for staging protests while their leadership simultaneously welcomed the Minority Affairs Minister who played a key role in pushing the bill.
“J&K, the only Muslim-majority state in India with 50 Muslim MLAs, has FAILED its community by not passing a resolution against the Waqf Bill. Tamil Nadu took a stand, but NC keeps surrendering—first on 370, then statehood, now religious matters. No resolution on Waqf = silent approval,” Para posted.
Adding to the criticism, JKPC President and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone also took to X to express his dismay over the J&K Chief Minister’s actions. He questioned why the CM did not register even a symbolic protest against the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the controversial bill.
“The least Muslims of India deserved was that in J&K, the only Muslim-majority province in India, the CM as a mark of protest stays away from Mr Kiren Rijiju, who presented the Waqf Bill. What a shame,” Lone posted.
