Protesters rally at Darussalam against Waqf Bill; Owaisi urges calm, continued opposition

Hyderabad: An indefinite ‘Save Waqf, Save Constitution’ campaign has been planned in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh under the aegis of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board against the Waqf Amendment Bill passed by the Parliament.

A mammoth crowd gathers at Darussalam Hyderabad

Darussalam Hyderabad was chosen as the mega meeting point as people came to listen to the president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi, president All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khaled Saifullah Rehmani, M Mohammed Abdulla, member of Parliament DMK, Tamil Nadu, Mohammed Hafeez Khan, former MLA Kurnool, YSRCP, Mohammed Mahmood Ali, former home minister Telangana, BRS party and others.

The protest plans were announced at Darussalam Hyderabad where the speakers urged for a peaceful protest against the Bill.

Protests and public gatherings

As per the protest plan, public meetings will be held in both States, and there will also be black out protests. Round table meetings will be held with local minority leaders and secular representatives to create awareness on the implications of the bill.

Gatherings of women and human chain

A special gathering of women will be held to make them aware of the bill and its impact. A human chain protest is planned across the cities of both States on May 25.

An appeal was sent out to everyone to participate, along with the entire families, including women, to protest in the districts and cities.

Controlling the crowd

When the crowd went out of control, Owaisi called out to the people, asking them to adjust and have patience. He said, “Aisa maat kariyeh, ke railing tut gaye toh mushkil ho jayege. Two hours taklief nahi utha sakte, itna dard ho raha hai, kaise mukababla karegne Modi se, baitho. (Please don’t do that, or the railing will break. If you are unable to handle two hours of discomfort, how will you be able to challenge PM Modi?)”

He told the crowd, “Cellphone ki light jalao taaki BJP walon ki dimaag ki batti jale. (Switch on the light on your cell phones so that the message will reach PM Modi)”

Later, Asaduddin Owaisi in a tweet, said, “Shukriya Hyderabad! This was a great show of unity against the #WaqfAmendmentAct. This law must go because it is against the Constitution’s spirit. Grateful for the participation of heads of many organisations and the MIM leaders and workers.”