‘If We Hit Streets…’: Maulana Tauqeer Raza's Dangerous Provocation To Surround Delhi Over Waqf Bill

New Delhi: As the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) continues to hold deliberations over the Waqf Amendment Bill, Uttar Pradesh cleric Tauqeer Raza has called for a massive march towards Delhi on November 24 while appealing to Muslim youths to take part in large numbers. 

Raza, also the founder of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, made inflammatory and provocative remarks in one of his recent rallies. 

Tauqeer Raza Calls For ‘Dilli Gherao’

He said that no one has the authority to take away lands belonging to Muslims and warned that if the Muslim community hits the streets against the Waqf bill, then Centre will be shaken.

“Kisi ke baap ki aukaat nahin ki who hamari sampati jabt kar sake (no one has the guts to take over our property). The day we come on the streets, your soul will tremble. Our youth are not cowards. We have kept our youth under control, but the day they go out of control, you won’t be able to stop them,” said Maulana Tauqeer Raza.   

BJP leader Naqvi Slams Tauqeer Raza

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slammed Islamic cleric Tauqeer Raza on Monday for his inflammatory and provocative comments.

“There is a need to find a logical solution to the long-pending issue of the Waqf Board. The Waqf system should be brought under the constitutional framework. The unchecked anarchy of the system needs to be corrected through structured, legal reforms,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. 

“The people who have been boycotting this issue for a long time and spreading discord are turning it into a spectacle of division. This cannot be allowed to continue,” he added.

25 JPC Meetings on Waqf Held So Far

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 has held 25 meetings so far since August 22. The JPC reviewed the work of six ministries and heard from 123 stakeholders, including representatives from six states, eight Waqf boards and four minority commissions.

What Does Waqf Amendment Bill Says 

The Waqf Act, 1995, was originally established to regulate Waqf properties, but it has long faced criticism over issues of mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha this August, seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.