Bihar Muslim body rejects Nitish Kumar's Iftaar invite over Waqf stance

Patna: A prominent Muslim body in Bihar has declined Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s invitation for ‘Iftaar,’ citing his "support" for the Waqf Bill as the reason for their protest.

The Imarat Shariah, which claims a significant following across Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha, shared a copy of its letter rejecting the invitation for the event, scheduled to be held at the chief minister’s residence on Sunday.

“A decision has been taken not to attend the government (sarkaari) Iftaar on March 23… This decision has been made in view of your support for the Waqf Bill, which threatens to worsen the economic and educational backwardness of Muslims,” the letter stated.

The organization accused Kumar of betraying his promises of secular governance and safeguarding minority rights. “You rose to power promising a secular rule in which minorities’ rights will be protected. But your alliance with the BJP and your support for a legislation that is unconstitutional and illogical militates against your stated commitments,” the letter alleged.

Calling the Iftaar gathering "tokenism," the Imarat Shariah asserted that the Bihar government’s indifference to Muslim concerns rendered such events meaningless.

There was no immediate response from Kumar or his party, the JD(U), which has historically relied on a section of Muslim voters, leveraging the chief minister’s perceived "secular" image. The JD(U) shares power with the BJP at both the state and central levels, with assembly elections in Bihar scheduled for later this year.

With PTI inputs