Tejashwi vows to scrap Waqf Act if INDIA bloc voted to power in Bihar

In a fiery address that electrified the crowds in Bihar’s Katihar district on Sunday, 26 October, RJD leader and INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav declared that the Waqf (Amendment) Act would be “thrown into the dustbin” if the opposition alliance comes to power in the state.

Speaking in the Muslim-majority heartland of Seemanchal, Yadav invoked his father and RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav, describing him as a leader who “never bowed before communal forces”, while taking sharp aim at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly “empowering the RSS and its affiliates.”

“Nitish Kumar has always sided with divisive forces. Because of him, the RSS is spreading its poison of hatred across Bihar and the country. The BJP should be called the Bharat Jalao Party,” Yadav thundered to loud cheers from the crowd.

Yadav’s remarks came amid a fresh controversy surrounding the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which was passed by Parliament in April. The BJP-led NDA has hailed it as a step toward transparency and empowerment of backward Muslims and women, but the Opposition has criticised it as an attack on minority rights and religious autonomy.

The debate intensified after RJD MLC Mohammad Qari Sohaib recently said that all “unjust bills, including the Waqf Bill,” would be torn apart if Tejashwi became chief minister — a comment that invited strong reactions from the BJP, which pointed out that a state government has no authority to nullify a central law.

Unfazed, Yadav doubled down on his attack, claiming Bihar is reeling under corruption and misgovernance. “The Chief Minister is not in his senses. Every department is steeped in corruption. Law and order has collapsed,” he alleged, accusing the government of neglecting the Seemanchal region — comprising Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj, and Katihar — which has a large Muslim population.

He announced that if the INDIA bloc assumes power, it would create a Seemanchal Development Authority to accelerate progress in the region.

Yadav also accused the NDA government of “copying his promises.” “We announced a hike in old-age pensions, and they followed suit, increasing it from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100. But I promise to take it to Rs 2,000 a month,” he said, drawing applause.

With assembly elections just weeks away, Yadav’s defiant tone and targeted outreach underscored his strategy — positioning himself as both the torchbearer of Lalu’s social justice legacy and the chief challenger to Nitish Kumar’s two-decade rule.

With PTI inputs