Protests against Waqf (Amendment) Act driven by vested interests: Union Minister Kishan Reddy

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday accused AIMIM and others protesting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act of attempting to mislead the public and claimed that those who looted the Waqf properties for decades are now opposing reforms aimed at welfare.

Reddy alleged that the AIMIM and Congress were running a "false campaign" against the NDA government and the BJP over the issue.

Responding to a query about the protest proposed to be organised here on April 19 by AIMIM and All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), he said the Waqf board was supposed to help poor Muslims, but it was "used by Majlis (AIMIM) people and big Muslim land grabbers".

"The same mafia which looted waqf board land for so many years are protesting now. I want to appeal to the Muslim community. Poor Muslims have not received any benefit from the Waqf till today. We would like to assure you on behalf of the Modi government. In the days to come, we will make sure every rupee is accounted for..." he told PTI here.

The Union Minister claimed that the Modi government's amendments made to the Waqf legislation were aimed at developing the Waqf properties and protecting them from encroachment.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi had announced that the AIMPLB will hold a protest meeting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Hyderabad on April 19.

The meeting will be held at Darussalam (AIMIM's headquarters here) under the leadership of AIMPLB president Khalid Saifullah Rahmani from 7 pm to 10 pm.

In an informal interaction with reporters earlier, Kishan Reddy, also president of the BJP in Telangana, said the BJP would reach out to the Muslim community over the Waqf Amendment Act.

A preparatory meeting would be held here on April 17 on the outreach programme, he said.

Asked about reports that his name was being considered for the post of the BJP national president, he denied it.

To another query about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism that the Congress government in Telangana had forgotten its promises to the people and was instead focused on destroying jungles with bulldozers, Reddy said the state government had felled thousands of trees overnight “under floodlights” on 400 acres of land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad.

He said the felling of trees stopped only after the Supreme Court intervened, and added that such a midnight operation was unprecedented since Independence.

"The theme of the PM’s speech was that the Congress government was not implementing its poll guarantees but was cutting down trees instead," he said.

Responding to the Congress government’s objection to a social media post he put up regarding the 400-acre land where the state had proposed IT infrastructure development, Kishan Reddy said he was ready to face legal action if a case was registered against him.

The BJP wants such land parcels to be preserved for future generations and is not blindly opposing the state government, he said.

He alleged that the state government was being run through "the sale of liquor, land, and rising debt."

Regarding the state’s proposal for expanding the Hyderabad Metro Rail, which is pending with the Centre, he said it must go through a proper vetting process.

On the Congress government's allegation that Telangana was not receiving its fair share of central funds despite paying high taxes, he responded by asking where the Centre had reduced allocations to the state.

Criticising AIMIM, he alleged that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was aligning with both the BRS and Congress based on "political convenience".

"For both the Congress and BRS, the ‘big boss’ is Owaisi," he claimed.