‘Waqf Board grabbing land, time to make changes’: Amit Shah in Jharkhand

Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the Waqf Board of grabbing land and asserted that it was time to introduce changes in the body and amend the related Act, reported PTI.

Addressing a poll rally in Jharkhand’s Baghmara, Shah also said that no one can stop the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which is “needed to check infiltrators”, and assured tribals that they would be kept out of its ambit.

“The Waqf Board is in the habit of grabbing land. In Karnataka, it has devoured the assets of villagers…It has grabbed land parcels of temples, farmers and villagers…Tell me whether changes are required in Waqf Board or not,” Shah said at the rally, according to PTI.

He also took a dig at Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying both oppose the changes to the Waqf Board.

“Hemant Babu (Hemant Soren) and Rahul Gandhi say no. I tell you let them oppose it, the BJP will pass the Bill to amend the Waqf Act. No one can stop us,” Shah said.

‘Trainloads of illegal immigrants will be sent to Bangladesh’

In Tuesday’s rally, Amit Shah also claimed that “trainloads of illegal immigrants will be sent to Bangladesh” if the BJP is voted to power in Jharkhand.

He also accused the ruling Hemant Soren government of making infiltrators its vote bank, according to PTI.

“No one can stop implementation of Uniform Civil Code aimed at preventing infiltration in Jharkhand, and tribals will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah claimed.

The home minister also promised that if the BJP is voted to power, it would make Jharkhand the most prosperous state in the country in the next five years.

“Each paisa looted by JMM-Congress leaders will be returned to its treasury,” he said. “…We will set up mineral-based industries in Jharkhand and create an environment in which no one will migrate to other states.”

Elections for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with the vote count scheduled for November 23.