Sanjay Saxena I Lucknow
By turning the Waqf Board Amendment Bill into law, the Modi government has made history. These amendments have been named ‘Umeed’ (Hope), but many political parties within the INDIA alliance, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), openly opposed the bill in an attempt to appease the Muslim vote bank.
However, those familiar with Muslim politics believe that the SP might end up losing rather than gaining from this move, as several backward Muslim communities are actually supporting the bill. Among them are Muslim organizations like the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, Jamiat Himayat-ul-Islam, and Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, which have voiced their support for the Waqf Amendment Bill. These institutions have raised sharp questions against those who have held sway over the Waqf boards for decades.
They argue that only those Muslims are upset with the bill who have been illegally occupying Waqf properties themselves. The Pasmanda (backward) Muslim organization, which claims to represent marginalized Muslims, supports the bill. In the September 2024 JPC meeting, it described the bill as beneficial to 85 percent of Muslims. This organization argues that the bill would reform the Waqf Board and benefit the marginalized sections of the Muslim community something leaders of parties like SP fail to comprehend.
This explains why SP chief Akhilesh Yadav deployed his ‘army’ of Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha to oppose the bill. MPs Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh, Zia-ur-Rehman Barq from Sambhal, Iqra Hasan from Kairana, Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, and Mohibullah Nadvi from Rampur harshly criticized the Modi government. In the Rajya Sabha, Professor Ramgopal Yadav led the charge. During the debate, one Muslim MP even threatened that Muslims would not accept this law. SP MP Iqra Hasan falsely claimed during the debate that Muslims in Uttar Pradesh were not allowed to offer Eid prayers.
The MPs selected by SP to speak against the Waqf Amendment Bill were either from the Yadav family or Muslim MPs. Out of the seven MPs who spoke extensively, four were Muslims and three were from the Mulayam Singh Yadav family. Among SP’s 37 MPs, none outside the Yadav clan or non-Muslims were given the opportunity to speak. This has led to suspicion surrounding the party’s internal functioning. Reports suggest that Hindu MPs within the SP are now concerned about their political future. Due to the party’s overt Muslim favoritism, Hindu MPs elected from Hindu-majority constituencies are finding it hard to face their constituents. This feeling intensified when, amid SP’s Muslim-friendly stance on the Waqf Bill, SP MP from Ayodhya, Awadhesh Prasad, unexpectedly visited the Ram Lalla temple something he had avoided under Akhilesh’s influence. Eleven months after winning the election, Awadhesh visited Ram Lalla. Until then, he had been refraining from visiting the temple under party directives. He now seems to have realized that if he too gains a Muslim-leaning image, it would be politically difficult to survive in the Hindu-majority city of Ram Lalla. This dilemma extends to other SP MPs who won from Hindu-dominated areas in the 2024 general election. As a result, none of them have issued any statements in support of the Waqf Bill.
Going a step further, the MPs chosen by the SP to oppose the bill are those with already controversial reputations, known for insulting Hindus and their deities. If we look at them individually:
Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, MP from Sambhal, follows in the footsteps of his late father, who frequently spoke venomously against Hindus. In November 2024, violence erupted during the survey of Sambhal’s Shahi Masjid, resulting in four deaths and many injuries. Following the incident, police filed a conspiracy case against SP MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq. He has also been accused of electricity theft and inciting a particular community during the Sambhal violence.
Similarly, Kairana MP Iqra Hasan Chaudhary, although a Member of Parliament, lacks any political background of her own. Her brother, Nahid Hasan, also from SP, is embroiled in numerous controversies and has over a dozen criminal cases against him, including under the Gangster Act. His intimidation drove many Hindu families to flee from Kairana. In January 2022, just before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Nahid was arrested in Shamli. As a result, he couldn’t contest the Lok Sabha elections, so SP fielded his sister Iqra from the Kairana seat. Today, Iqra is simply furthering her brother’s controversial legacy.
SP MP Afzal Ansari, who vehemently opposed the Waqf Bill, is the elder brother of mafia don Mukhtar Ansari. Mukhtar held absolute sway around Ghazipur, with Afzal considered the brain behind his muscle power. On February 12, 2025, at a Sant Ravidas Jayanti event in Shadiabad, SP MP Afzal Ansari made controversial comments about the Mahakumbh bathing ritual. He has previously made disparaging remarks about Hindu saints and religious practices. During Mukhtar Ansari’s death, Afzal was also seen misbehaving with the District Magistrate of Ghazipur.
Mohibullah Nadvi, SP MP from Rampur, also roared in opposition to the Waqf Bill. Akhilesh had granted him a Lok Sabha ticket despite opposition from senior party leader Azam Khan. During his campaign, Nadvi made a veiled remark about Azam who was in jail at the time suggesting that prison was a place of reform. This comment sparked tension within the party. Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatima and Moradabad MP Ruchi Veera criticized Nadvi’s statement. These incidents reveal the internal discord within SP and growing political tension in Rampur. Nadvi’s personal life is also mired in controversy. He is embroiled in a divorce case and has reportedly failed to pay court-ordered alimony to his wife.
Due to the selection of such MPs for the Waqf Bill debate, SP now faces criticism for sidelining the legacy of revered Muslim personalities such as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (missile man and former President), Dara Shikoh, Ras Khan (Krishna devotee poet), Veer Abdul Hameed (Param Vir Chakra awardee), Bismillah Khan (shehnai maestro), Dr. Abdul Kaleem Azeez (historian), Abdul Qayyum Ansari (freedom fighter and politician), Shah Mubarak Ali (educator and social reformer), Zohra Sehgal (actress and dancer), and Captain Abbas Ali (freedom fighter and officer in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj). These individuals were once closely associated with the socialist ideology that SP claims to uphold. However, today, such names are ignored within the party, and instead, controversial figures like Babur, Aurangzeb, mafia dons Atiq Ansari, Mukhtar Ansari, and extremists like Yasin Malik, Dawood Ibrahim, Yakub Memon, and Afzal Guru are celebrated. When SP comes to power, it is often accused of conspiring to release terrorists from jail.
