The Dr Mohan Yadav-led Madhya Pradesh BJP government has become the first state government in the country to appoint two Hindu members to the State Waqf Board. However, the decision has not gone down well with the Muslim community.
Members of the All India Muslim Teohar Committee (AIMTC) staged a protest at Budhwara Chowk in Bhopal on Monday after the state government appointed Manoj Malpani of Indore, and Animesh Bhargava of Raghogarh in Guna district, as members of the 10-member State Waqf Board in accordance with Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav’s decision.
“When the Muslim community has never sought representation in the Ayodhya temple committee, Mathura committee or the Somnath temple committee, why has the MP BJP government appointed two Hindu members to the State Waqf Board?” questioned AIMTC Chief Shamsul Hasan.
He wondered why the state government was disturbing a long-standing system.
The protesters demanded the immediate cancellation of the appointment of the two non-Muslim members.
They also raised slogans like ‘Waqf Board mein manmaani nahi chalegi’.
Congress MLA from Bhopal, Arif Masood also objected to the state government’s decision. “I will soon approach the Supreme Court against the government’s decision,” he declared.
The MP BJP state government is the first in the country to reconstitute the State Waqf Board, as per the provisions laid down in the Union BJP Government’s ‘Waqf (Amendment) Act – 2025’.