The decision was taken at the concluding session of the board’s three-day annual general meeting at the world famous Islamic seminary, Nadwat-ul-Ulema, on Sunday.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will wage a country-wide campaign against the proposed amendments to the Communal Violence Bill which seek to give more powers to men in uniform. The board would bring all Muslim MPs to mobilise opinion on the issue.
The decision was taken at the concluding session of the board’s three-day annual general meeting at the world famous Islamic seminary, Nadwat-ul-Ulema, on Sunday.
“The police force throughout the country is biased against Muslims… any arbitrary powers given to them would be extremely harmful for the community,” the board’s general secretary Mohd Abdur Rahim Qureshi said. “We oppose amendments to the Communal Violence Bill which would give extraordinary powers to the police in riot situations,” he said.
Top clerics noted that in almost all incidents of rioting, minorities became the worst sufferers. Some board members also mentioned the Batla House encounter, charging the police with shooting down innocent youngsters in the name of a terrorist threat.
Senior AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said the board would soon call a meeting of all Muslim MPs and chalk out a strategy to prevent such amendments in the Communal Violence Bill.
“The experience with the Armed Forces Special Power Act in Jammu and Kashmir is before us… we will fight against any such amendments with all our might,” he said.
Rajya Sabha MP Mohd Adeeb and Lok Sabha MP Sahfiq-ur-Rahman Barq, who were present during the deliberations, assured the board of all support.
The board, however, shied away from prickly issues like the Women’s Reservation Bill and triple talaq. Qureshi said these issues were not on the agenda of the meeting.
The Babri Masjid issue, however, did rather predictably figure in the discussions. The board has demanded that the Centre expedite legal proceedings in the case.
“The Liberhan Commission has identified those guilty of the mosque demolition… why is the government soft-pedalling the issue?” he asked.
The board also called upon the Centre to review its ties with Israel.
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