Govt intends to loot Waqf properties: Swami Prasad Maurya

Attacking the government over the Waqf Amendment Bill, former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday alleged that the government’s intent in bringing the bill was to loot Waqf properties. Addressing a press conference at his residence in Gomti Nagar here, the Apni Janta Party chief said, “The government should not interfere in the religious matters and let the Waqf work as before.”

“Ever since the BJP government came to power, the Constitution is being ignored and RSS people are being appointed in government jobs. Incidents like the murder of a Dalit nurse in Pratapgarh, the death of youth in Fatehpur and custodial death of a boy in Azamgarh are enough to understand law and order situation in the state,” he alleged.

“The chief minister (of UP) is focusing on irrelevant issues instead of core ones. I demand the Centre to focus on issues like unemployment and inflation instead of temple/mosque,” Maurya said. The former minister also raised a question over use of EVMs, saying when western countries have adopted ballot papers, why can’t India also do so.

Maurya, who has completed the first phase of his state-wide ‘Samvidhan Samman and Janhit Hunkar Yatra’ that started on March 15, said he will be starting the second phase from Wednesday covering Basti and Gorakhpur regions.

“The main objective of the yatra is to wake up the central and state governments, which are sleeping on important issues like inflation, unemployment and atrocities on Dalits and Muslims,” the Apni Janta Party chief said.