At least two 'persons' in Bihar on Thursday announced their "resignation" from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, voicing dissatisfaction with the party's support to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Expressing dismay over the development, JD-U national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad claimed neither Mohammed Qasim Ansari, who hails from East Champaran, nor Jamui resident Nawaz Malik was a part of "our rank and file".
In a letter that has gone viral on social media, Ansari claims to be JD-U's medical cell president in East Champaran and the party's Dhaka assembly candidate.
Interestingly, Dhaka was not contested by the JD-U in 2020, when the seat was won by ally BJP's Pawan Jaiswal.
Ansari alleged that the Waqf Bill was "against Muslims" and deplored the failure of the JD-U to thwart its passage, despite being an alliance partner on which the BJP depended for survival in power.
Likewise, Malik, who called himself "secretary of JD-U's minority cell", alleged in his letter "Muslims and workers like us are shocked by the JD-U's stand on Waqf Bill issue".
"I wonder what to say about things. I have been associated with the party for long. I say with full responsibility that neither person has been a part of our rank and file", Rajiv Ranjan Prasad told PTI.
He added, "We admit that some genuine members of our party, like national general secretary Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi, are not very happy with the passage of the Bill. Their grievances will be dealt with at the appropriate level. But those who are coming up with the claim of resignation from the party, were never members in the first place".
Notably, Baliyawi and another JD-U leader Syed Afzal Abbas, who heads the Bihar Shia Waqf Board, had earlier in the day voiced their disappointment with the Bill, claiming that it was passed without heeding many of the suggestions given by Muslim leaders during deliberations with the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
However, both Baliyawi and Abbas stopped short of voicing disapproval of the party's stance over the issue.
The controversy over Waqf Bill is likely to roil Bihar at least till the assembly elections, which are due later this year.
Recently, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had staged a demonstration in the city, in a bid to put pressure on Nitish Kumar and junior NDA partners like Chirag Paswan to thwart the contentious legislation.
Kumar, a socialist who claims to be following in the footsteps of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia, has prided himself on his secular
credentials, despite having been a BJP ally since 1990s.
The JD-U supremo appears focused on the challenge of securing Muslim votes, with recent speeches highlighting his government's record on minorities.
Recently, at a function where he shared the stage with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the chief minister underscored "failure of putting a stop to Hindu-Muslim clashes, despite getting Muslim votes" of the RJD, the main opposition party, which had ruled Bihar for 15 years.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and Left combine has also latched on to the opportunity to corner the JD-U over the Waqf issue, hoping to consolidate Muslims in favour of the "Mahagathbandhan".
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