Major Muslim organisations on Sunday boycotted the iftar hosted by Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal United (JDU) president Nitish Kumar over his support for the waqf amendment bill, 2024.
However, a large number of Muslims, including Bihar governor Arif Mohammed Khan, attended the event, defying the boycott call. Prayers were also held at the chief minister’s official residence in Patna.
Several BJP leaders were also present.
The organisations have also called for a boycott of the iftar to be hosted by Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan in Patna on Monday.
Among the prominent organisations that skipped Nitish’s iftar were the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the Imarat Shariah (Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand), the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, the Jamiat Ahle Hadees, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the Khanquah Mujibia, and the Khanquah Rahmani.
In letters addressed to the chief minister, these organisations explained their decision.
“You came to power on the promise of secular governance and the protection of minority rights. However, your alliance with the BJP and support for the illogical and unconstitutional Waqf (Amendment) Bill violate those promises,” they said in their letters.
“The purpose of your iftar is to foster harmony and trust, but such objectives are not achieved through mere formal feasts. Concrete policies and actions matter. The continued neglect of Muslims’ just demands renders such gatherings meaningless,”
they added.
The organisations argued that the Bill, if enacted, would destroy educational institutions, hospitals, centres for women, and centuries-old religious properties. They warned that it would exacerbate poverty and deprivation among minorities, as highlighted in the Sachar Committee report.
Emphasising their objections, they said they were open to discussions on the issue.
“You and your JDU will be held responsible if the bill becomes an act. We will continue to protest through legal, democratic, and political means against this violation of the Constitution,” they added.
Political turmoil escalated further when the RJD circulated copies of these letters through various means, including social media.
JDU MLC Khalid Anwar dismissed the boycott as politically motivated, pointing out that government expenditure on Muslims had risen from ₹4 crore in 2004 (during RJD rule) to ₹700 crore in the present year under Nitish’s leadership.
“This boycott is a conspiracy by the RJD with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections. It will backfire,” Anwar claimed.
JDU national working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha also criticised the iftar boycott call.
“Ibadat mein siyasat theek nahi” (Politics in prayers is not right), he said.
“Nitish Kumar has done a lot for the welfare of Muslims over the past 20 years. His work is evident for all to see, including for those now playing politics over iftar,” Jha added.
RJD president Lalu Prasad is set to host an iftar at the residence of his wife, former chief minister Rabri Devi, on Monday. All eyes will be on the event to gauge the turnout of prominent Muslim leaders and compare it with Nitish’s iftar.
