AIMPLB urges Muslims to wear black armband to 'last Friday of Ramzan' prayers to protest Waqf Bill

New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has urged Muslims to wear a black armband on their right hand when they go for Juma prayers on the last Friday of Ramzan as a mark of their protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi issued a video appeal posted on the Board's X handle in which he urged people to wear a black armband on their right hand when they go for prayers.

"Protests by the AIMPLB against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill continue. In that context, register your protest on the occasion of Juma Tul Wida (last Friday of Ramzan)," he said.

He urged Muslims to put a black armband on their right hand and share a video of it while also sending it to the online desk of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had earlier on Sunday announced a nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with large sit-ins planned in front of the state assemblies in Patna and Vijayawada on March 26 and 29, respectively, as part of the first phase of the protest.

The protests against the Waqf Bill rocked Bihar on Wednesday, from the legislature to the streets, as political parties within the state and outside stood in solidarity with the AIMPLB, which organised a 'maha dharna' in Patna.

The AIMPLB demonstrations were held barely a kilometre away from the Vidhan Sabha premises, to demand rollback of the Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and to request "secular" leaders like Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to reconsider "support" to the contentious legislation.

The AIMPLB's 31-member Action Committee has resolved to adopt all constitutional, legal and democratic means to oppose the bill, which it has described as "controversial, discriminatory and damaging".

Major rallies are scheduled to be held in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Malerkotla (Punjab) and Ranchi, the AIMPLB had said in a statement.

The AIMPLB's statement comes after Parliament's joint committee submitted its report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Though not listed yet, there is speculation that the proposed legislation could be brought for passage in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session.

The 31-member panel on the Bill, after multiple sittings and hearings, suggested several amendments to the proposed legislation even as the opposition members disagreed with the report and submitted dissent notes.

The 655-page report was submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30.

The joint committee adopted the report that contained changes suggested by members of the ruling BJP by a 15-11 majority vote. The move prompted the opposition to dub the exercise an attempt to destroy Waqf boards.

The Bill was referred to the joint committee on August 8 last year following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.