'Still hopeful' of Nitish Kumar taking stand against Waqf Bill Tariq Anwar
'Still hopeful' of Nitish Kumar taking stand against Waqf Bill Tariq Anwar
M.U.H
31/03/202538
Patna: Senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar on Monday said he was "still hopeful" of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar taking a stand against the contentious Waqf Bill when it is brought in Parliament.
The former Union minister was talking to reporters at the historical Gandhi Maidan here, after he joined local residents in offering the "namaz" on the occasion of Eid.
His attention was drawn to the fact that Kumar, too, was at Gandhi Maidan to exchange Eid greetings with the people, unperturbed by Islamic leaders like Arshad Madani announcing "boycott" of Iftaar hosted by the JD(U) president.
Anwar replied "It is good that Nitish Kumar has continued with a tradition he has been following since long. But, we would like him to demonstrate that he is not putting up a show. He must act on matters concerning Muslims, and not toe the BJP's line on these".
"We were of the view that Kumar and (Chandrababu) Naidu will not support the Waqf Bill. We are still hopeful that Kumar, who cherishes his secular image, will take a clear stand when the bill is brought in Parliament by the Narendra Modi government", added the Congress leader.
The BJP, which does not have a majority in the Lok Sabha, depends on the support of allies like Kumar's JD(U) and Naidu's TDP for surviving in power at the Centre.
