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Bihar BJP passes resolution criticising anti-Waqf Act stance of opposition
Bihar BJP passes resolution criticising anti-Waqf Act stance of opposition

The Print

time4 days ago

  • Politics
  • The Print

Bihar BJP passes resolution criticising anti-Waqf Act stance of opposition

The political resolution, which dwelt at length on 11 years of the Narendra Modi government, also said, 'We oppose the appeasement politics of Lalu Yadav and the Mahagathbandhan.' The resolution slammed the RJD supremo's son, Tejashwi Yadav, and Congress leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Imran Pratapgarhi, who had attended a mammoth rally held here a couple of days ago in protest against the Waqf Act. At the state executive meeting here, held in the presence of Defence Minister and former national president Rajnath Singh, the party passed a two-page political resolution, besides a 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' that declared 'Lalu (Prasad) and his allies cannot defeat us' in Assembly polls due later this year. Patna, Jul 2 (PTI) The BJP's Bihar unit on Wednesday passed a resolution criticising the 'appeasement politics' of the Mahagathbandhan helmed by Lalu Prasad's RJD, which has been opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Act that came into force in April. 'These leaders spoke of throwing the Waqf Act into the dustbin. The legislation has been passed by Parliament, and their stance is anti-Constitution. Their stand is in line with the politics of appeasement, much to the detriment of Pasmandas, who have been victims of oppression for centuries', the resolution said. Pasmanda is an umbrella term encompassing Backward, Dalit, and Adivasi Muslims whom the saffron camp is trying to woo. The resolution added: 'The BJP will never compromise on the welfare of any section of society. The Waqf (Amendment) Act was an important step in the direction of social reforms taking place in the country. Its benefits will be reaped by the generations to come. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same'. The resolution also touched upon the Emergency imposed 50 years ago, and alleged that the 'lives of many generations were wasted behind (Indira Gandhi's) slogan 'Garibi Hatao'. It was under Modi that 27 crore people have been able to overcome poverty'. The resolution also lauded Rajnath Singh for 'giving a strong message to China, while on its soil, against double standards towards terror, by refusing to sign the joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Minister's meeting'. The 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' said, 'This resolution is dedicated to Mother Sita. The Bihar government has sanctioned Rs 882 crore for the development of Punauradham, her place of birth. It is a matter of pride for party workers. After the Ram temple at Ayodhya, the shrine of Sita Mata will be yet another grand symbol of our ancient heritage'. The 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' also focused on economic growth in Bihar under NDA rule, besides pointing out the Centre's nod for caste census, which had been an emotive issue in the state that was at the forefront of the Mandal churn. PTI NAC MNB NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

HL: ‘Don't fall into BJP's trap': SP starts Pasmanda outreach for 2027 polls
HL: ‘Don't fall into BJP's trap': SP starts Pasmanda outreach for 2027 polls

Indian Express

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • Indian Express

HL: ‘Don't fall into BJP's trap': SP starts Pasmanda outreach for 2027 polls

AFTER THE BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is reaching out to Pasmanda Muslims and will launch a year-long drive starting July for the community that will involve a range of programmes and events. Comprising the socially, educationally and economically backward groups among the Muslims, the Pasmandas constitute a large majority of the community. An SP leader estimated that around 85% of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, across 48 castes, are from Pasmanda groups. The remaining 15% are upper-caste Muslims from the Sheikh, Syed, Mughal and Pathan communities. The SP counts Muslims as among its big vote banks in UP. The design and the structure of SP's drive was formulated at a meeting of party president Akhilesh Yadav and Pasmanda Samaj leaders earlier this month, a day after the Samjawadi Alpsankhyak Sabha, the minority wing of the party, held a meeting. As part of the drive, SP sources said, the party will first hold meetings with members of the Pasmanda Muslim community in all 403 Assembly constituencies of the state. This will be followed by district-level conventions, culminating in a state-level public meeting in the run-up to the 2027 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. SP national secretary Anis Mansoori, who is also the president of the Pasmanda Muslim Samaj, an umbrella organisation of the community, told The Indian Express that the SP would truly 'empower' the group. 'In these meetings and conventions (as part of the drive), we will convince the Pasmanda community that they should not fall into the BJP's trap. The BJP shows concern for the community only for votes… It (the BJP) does nothing for their empowerment. The Pasmanda community will be part of the SP's organisation and government when the party comes to power in the state,' Mansoori said. Mansoori added that the BJP's Pasmanda outreach efforts were meant to divide the Muslim vote, hence hurting the SP. 'Our apprehension is that if Pasmandas vote for the BJP, it will cut off a major chunk of Muslims. Muslims and Yadavs are the SP's core voters… Akhilesh ji has assured us that all the problems of the Pasmanda community will be addressed if the SP comes to power,' he said. The SP is framing the outreach as part of its PDA (Pichchda, Dalit and alpsankhyak) formula. A press release after the meeting with Pasmanda leaders said the SP would give the community 'political honour'. The BJP has been trying to make inroads into the Pasmanda community since 2022. At his speech at a BJP national executive conclave held in Hyderabad in July that year, Modi asked the party to reach out to 'deprived and downtrodden' sections in all communities. According to UP BJP insiders, its calculations showed that an estimated 8% of voters from the community favoured the party in the Assembly polls that year, even though the SP had a strong alliance with other OBC-based regional parties. Since then, Pasmanda Muslims have been the subject of several BJP outreach initiatives, from sammelans and sneh yatras to meetings with intellectuals. Reacting on the SP's campaign, UP BJP's minority wing state president Kunvar Basit Ali said: 'The SP is afraid of the BJP's efforts to get Muslim votes. Muslims are supporting the BJP now for their development and growth.'

BJP minority wing to ask Pasmandas to assert caste identities during census
BJP minority wing to ask Pasmandas to assert caste identities during census

Time of India

time18-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Time of India

BJP minority wing to ask Pasmandas to assert caste identities during census

1 2 Lucknow: In a strategic move, the BJP plans to tap the Pasmanda (backward) Muslim communities by exhorting them to assert their caste identities during the caste enumeration exercise scheduled to be undertaken along with the Census drive in 2026 and 2027. This may help them avail reservation benefits. "The community needs to be cautious of hardliner Maulanas and the opposition leaders who just want Muslims to be identified only on religious grounds," said UP BJP minority morcha chief Kunwar Basit Ali. BJP sources said that the party plans to chart out a nationwide drive to reach out to the Pasmandas, the electorally crucial bloc constituting a sizable potential of the total Muslim population which has traditionally been supportive of the opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party and Cong. This is seen as BJP's yet another strategy to blunt opposition's aggression ahead of panchayat polls due next year and subsequently the 2027 assembly elections. BJP national minority morcha president Jamal Siddiqui told TOI that the campaign would soon be rolled out after due discussion and formal approval of the party high command. He said that maximum reservation benefits have been usurped by a handful of Muslim communities while a host of socially and economically oppressed sections remain neglected. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "Only the creamy layer among the Pasmandas have been benefited. There are scores of castes within the Pasmandas who have left behind in the road to social justice and development. They need to be supported," he said. Several Muslim communities get reservations in the Central OBC and several state OBC lists. According to a 2005 National Sample Survey Organisation survey, Muslim OBCs constitute around 41% of the total Muslim population. Muslim groups, however, claim the percentage to be much higher. In UP, communities like Nai (barber), Qureshi, Ansaris (weavers/Julaha) and Fakir get OBC reservations. In the past, PM Narendra Modi too had underscored backwardness among Pasmanda Muslims, while highlighting his govt's efforts to reach out to the most deprived sections of society with its various welfare schemes. During the BJP national executive meeting in 2022, Modi had made a special mention of the Pasmanda Muslims, suggesting the BJP workers to make special efforts to gain support of the community. This was seen as a reiteration of the party's stand in UP where CM Yogi Adityanath appointed Danish Azad Ansari, a Pasmanda Muslim from Ballia, as minister of state for minority affairs. He is the lone Muslim face in the state cabinet. Subsequently, in 2023 the BJP nominated former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor, also a Pasmanda, as MLC before elevating him as party national vice-president.

Caste census: Pasmanda Muslims may be counted as OBCs
Caste census: Pasmanda Muslims may be counted as OBCs

Indian Express

time02-05-2025

  • Politics
  • Indian Express

Caste census: Pasmanda Muslims may be counted as OBCs

IN THE enumeration of castes to be done in the forthcoming Census, as announced by the government Wednesday, Pasmanda Muslims as a whole may figure in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category. 'Pasmanda Muslims will be given their due share in the national caste census,' said a senior BJP leader. Leaders of the BJP Minority Morcha and OBC Morcha confirmed the same. 'As per the Mandal Commission recommendations, some groups among Muslims are included in the state and Central list of Backward Classes. These Muslims will be enumerated as such in the caste census (among OBCs),' K Laxman, the national president of the BJP's OBC Morcha, told The Indian Express. The national president of the BJP Minority Morcha, Jamal Siddiqui, said: 'Pasmanda Muslims too are citizens of this country. So they will be enumerated as per their backwardness in the caste census.' So far, all Census undertaken by the government, including the last one in 2011, included Muslims as a separate, single bloc. The move is significant as the BJP, which is accused of being anti-minority, has been wooing Pasmanda Muslims, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the way. Enumerating them as OBCs, entitles them to the quota for OBCs. 'Pasmanda', a Persian word, means the 'ones left behind', and is used to describe depressed classes among the Muslims. The Sachar Committee in its report put the number of OBC and SC/ST Muslims at 40% (all India 2004-05). But Pasmanda activists and scholars say that the Pasmandas make up 80-85% of the total Muslim population in India. This broadly tallies with the 1871 Census that said only 19% of Muslims in India were upper caste, while 81% were made up of the lower castes. While confirming that Pasmandas may be counted as OBCs in the caste census, Laxman made a distinction between the surveys conducted by Bihar and Telangana, both of which counted Pasmanda Muslims among backward classes. The national enumeration cannot be 'as haphazard as was done in the Telangana caste survey', he said. In Telangana, where the Congress government of Revanth Reddy carried out the caste survey, 81% of the Muslims were found to be Pasmanda. According to Laxman, 'In Telangana, the government was trying to appease Muslims and included almost all of them under the Pasmanda Muslim category. Muslims were once rulers of Hyderabad. How can rulers be OBCs?' The Bihar caste survey, which put Pasmandas at 73% of the Muslim population, was more of 'an example to emulate', Laxman said. While the Mahagathbandhan government including the Congress and RJD was in power when the Bihar caste survey was carried out, the Chief Minister then was Nitish Kumar, who is now a BJP ally. Incidentally, at his press conference Wednesday after the government's caste census announcement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had urged it to emulate the Telangana survey. Another leader of the BJP Minority Morcha said that Pasmanda Muslims are already included in some state lists for reservation. 'For instance, Mapila is an OBC in Kerala. But among the Muslim population in Kerala, we don't have figures on the number of Mapilas as Muslims have been considered a single backward bloc,' the leader said. Supporting such a distinction for Pasmanda Muslims, a Pasmanda Muslim activist said the Ashraf Muslims (who are seen as the 'elite'), and Pasmanda Muslims, including the Ajiafs (Backward Muslims) and Arzals (Dalit Muslims), cannot be considered as a single bloc. 'The caste census will help bring out the difference. Pasmanda is a term which in India has largely stood for Backward Class Muslims, who are marginalised due to their socio-economic backgrounds,' he said. However, Ali Anwar Ansari, seen as among the foremost Pasmanda Muslim leaders, told The Indian Express, 'What is the point of just enumerating Pasmanda Muslims in a separate category? Some state lists of OBCs already do this. The Central government should ideally look for socio-economic upliftment of Pasmanda Muslims, by including Dalit Muslims in the Scheduled Caste list, for example. They are not ready to do this.' IUML MP Haris Beeran said the inclusion of Pasmanda Muslims among OBCs would be another bid to bring 'some kind of a division within the community'. 'When the Supreme Court itself has said that Muslims as a group are backward, what is the rationale for subdividing them without giving any inkling of uplifting the community?' It was from Telangana that the BJP's Pasmanda outreach incidentally began. In 2022, addressing a BJP National Executive in Hyderabad, PM Modi urged party leaders to reach out to marginalised Muslims. During the Lok Sabha campaign last year, while speaking in Aligarh, Modi accused the Congress and ally Samajwadi Party (SP) of 'marginalising Pasmanda Muslims' and said the community 'must be given opportunities'.

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