Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday urged the people to stay alert over the issue of Modi Government's Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 saying “it concerns our very religious existence and institutions.”
“The Mutaheda Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) has written a detailed letter to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) expressing our deep concerns and apprehension. The MMU has also requested the JPC to reject the amendments and sought time for a meeting,” Mirwaiz said in a statement.
The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is meeting on September 18, 19, and 20 in New Delhi to hear the opinions or recommendations of experts and stakeholders. At JPC sessions, opposition parties have consistently opposed the Waqf Board Amendment Bill.
Mirwaiz, the head priest of Kashmir, urged the people to stay alert to the issue (Waqf Bill) “as it concerns our very religious existence and institutions. The MMU has also asked people to sign on the link attached ( https://waqf1.pages.dev/ ) to register their disapproval of the Bill.
Meanwhile, Mirwaiz while terming his ongoing house arrest, as “arbitrary” and “undemocratic”, accused the administration of preventing him from going to Jamia Masjid in old city Srinagar to deliver the Friday sermon.
“Being the patron of MMU, I was not even allowed to attend its important meeting yesterday (Thursday) with regard to discussing the very serious issue of the Amendment to the Muslim Waqf Act with the member religious leaders and scholars,” the statement said.
The Mirwaiz, it said, was also not allowed to attend a media session over the situation in J&K by a reputed national media channel. “At the same event the chief state functionary (LG) when asked about his detention, as always, refuted it outrightly,” it added.
While belying the normalcy claims of the LG administration, Mirwaiz said was unfortunate that he was repeatedly being targeted and detained.
“As assembly elections are nearer and despite the ECIs guidelines that preventive detention and asking people to report to police stations should be avoided, tens of dozens of people are being detained and people especially political workers and youth are being harassed and asked to report to police stations seeking surety bonds from them,” he alleged
“Long lists of people in each police station area to be detained in view of elections have been prepared. There is fear among those being detained and those whose names are in these lists, that once arrested they will be booked under the draconian PSA and UAPA,” the Mirwaiz added.
He appealed to the authorities to desist from such actions that create fear and intimidate people.
The Mirwaiz also paid tributes to the communist leader Sitaram Yechury , who passed away in Delhi on Thursday. Expressing sorrow at his demise, he said Yechury was an advocate of human and political rights of the people of J&K.