Lucknow: Flagging off a campaign to garner support for the Waqf Amendment Act , BJP national general secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal on Saturday slammed the Congress, accusing it of devising a malicious strategy to scare the Muslims of the country and stand against Hindus.
Addressing a workshop organised on the Waqf Act at Bhagidari Bhawan by the BJP, Agarwal said: "Congress never tried to make Muslims economically and socially strong. It did nothing to improve their socio-economic conditions despite the Sachchar Committee report stating that the Muslims of the country are economically, educationally backward, and socially isolated."
Agarwal also criticised Congress for charting a narrative that Muslims had the first right to the resources of the country. "PM Narendra Modi rather believes that the poor had the first right on resources. And this is what the BJP govt has done," he said, noting that 31% of the houses in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were given to Muslims.
Agarwal said according to the Sachchar report, in 2006, there were 450,000 Waqf properties with a total area of 6 lakh acres. "If 10% profit is applied on this land at the rate of a thousand, then in 2006, the income from Waqf properties should have been Rs 12,000 crore. But only Rs 163 crore is earned. Where is the rest of the money going?" he questioned.
UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary said there has been a lack of policy in the management of waqf properties.
"There was a lack of participation of women. Any property was declared as waqf property without any logical basis and occupied on a large scale. The new act will prove to be helpful in strengthening the weaker sections and women economically and socially," he said.
Deputy CM Keshav Maurya said Congress did vote bank politics by scaring Muslims in the name of BJP. "Despite these conspiracies of the opposition, BJP is the largest party in the world," he said.
Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said under the leadership of PM Modi, Muslims were getting strengthened economically, educationally and socially. "Congress used Muslims like bay leaves in biryani, used them for its own selfish interests, and after the biryani of politics was cooked, the bay leaves were thrown away," he said. State general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh said opposition parties are spreading confusion in the country vis-à-vis the Waqf Act.
He said the party would go to people with full information, clear the confusion, and make them aware of the truth.
For this, the organisation has decided to conduct programmes in a phased manner. After the state workshop, training will be given at workshops at the regional level on April 21 and 22. District-level workshops will be organised on April 23 and 24, he said. Likewise, a town hall programme will be organised on April 25, in which Muslim scholars, maulanas, operators of dargahs, and poets would be invited.
