Several Muslim organisations in Bihar boycotted an Iftar dinner organised by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his home in Patna on Sunday, citing the Janata Dal (United)’s support for the 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill, The Hindu reported.

In a letter to Kumar, seven Muslim groups said that the chief minister had come to power on the promise of a secular government and the protection of the rights of minorities, The Hindu reported.

“But your alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and your support to the illogical and unconstitutional Waqf Amendment Bill is a blatant violation of your same promises,” the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.

Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) is an ally of the BJP in Bihar and is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.

The Waqf Bill has been opposed by leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc and Muslim groups who maintain that it violates the right to freedom of religion and the freedom to manage religious affairs. The Act was last amended in 2013.

The Janata Dal (United), however, has supported the proposed amendments to the Act, saying that the changes are not anti-Muslim, The Hindu reported. The party said that the bill aimed to ensure transparency in the operation of the waqf boards and was not an attempt to interfere with mosques.

A waqf is a property given for a religious, educational or charitable cause by Muslims. In India, waqfs are governed under the Waqf Act. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity, which is empowered to acquire, hold and transfer property.

“The purpose of your Iftar feast is to promote goodwill and trust, but trust is not built only by formal feasts but by concrete policy measures,” the Muslim groups were quoted as saying in the letter. “Your government’s ignoring of the legitimate demands of Muslims makes such formal feasts meaningless.”

The letter said that the draft legislation, if implemented, would eliminate centuries-old waqf properties in educational institutions, hospitals, women’s centres and religious places.

“This will further increase poverty and deprivation in the Muslim community as has already been stated in the Sachar Committee report,” the letter said.

The Congress-led Union government in 2005 had set up a committee led by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar to examine the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community. The report was submitted in November 2006.

The organisations that registered their protests were the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Imarat-e-Sharia, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Jamal-e-Islami Hind, Khanqah Mujibia and Khanqah Rahmani, The Hindu reported.

Another Muslim organisation, Imarat-e-Shariah, also announced that it would not attend the “sarkari” Iftaar hosted by Kumar to protest his support for the bill, The Indian Express reported.

However, several members of the Muslim community attended the event despite the boycott by the groups.

Responding to the Imarat-e-Shariah’s call for a boycott, Janata Dal (United) Spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said it was “uncalled for”, according to The Indian Express reported. “We are happy that several Muslim leaders attended our Iftar,” he added.

Iftar is the meal that Muslims eat at sunset to break their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.

The 44 amendments in the Waqf bill, which were tabled in Parliament in August, propose to curb the authority of waqf boards and allow greater government control over them. They would also allow non-Muslims to become board members, restrict property donations and alter the function of waqf tribunals.

The draft legislation was referred to a joint parliamentary committee on August 8 after objections from the Opposition.

On January 29, the joint parliamentary committee adopted the revised 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill after a vote, with 15 votes in favour of its draft report and 11 against. Two days earlier, it cleared the bill after accepting proposals from NDA members.

Amendments proposed by Opposition MPs were rejected.