New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) The Pasmandas, which constitute 73 per cent of the total Muslim population of Bihar, will get representation in the Waqf Board for the first time once the law comes into force, JD(U) member Sanjay Kumar Jha said on Thursday.

During a discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Rajya Sabha, Jha said canards were being spread in the Muslim community about their mosques, Eidgahs, and burial grounds coming under threat due to the Bill. However, the discussion has cleared the air, he added.

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He said most disputes related to the Bill are over selling land and self-consumption of 90 per cent of the rent.

"They (Pasmandas) feel that once this law is implemented, work will be done for poor Muslims in the true sense," Jha said

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He said Bihar is the only state that has carried out a caste census and highlighted that 73 per cent of the total Muslim population in Bihar is Pasmanda.

"We have scientific data. There are people from the Raeen community, Ansari community, and Mansuri community... to date, they have not been given representation in Waqf. This is the first time that they will get their representatives in the Waqf Board," Jha said.

He also attacked the Congress and RJD over their alleged failure to provide justice to the victims of the Bhagalpur riots while being in power.

"For 15 years the RJD and Congress were in power but people did not get justice. There was no inquiry for 15 years instead those behind the riots were facilitated," Jha alleged.

He said when the NDA government came to power in 2006, a commission was set up to punish the rioters and they were convicted.

Jha said former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had once demanded a strict law for Waqf properties in the Lok Sabha. As RJD member Manoj Jha objected to the remark, Union Home Minister Amit Shah intervened and said Yadav's statement was on record in the Lok Sabha.

However, Manoj Jha said citation should not be done based on cherry picking and there are rules for it.

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