Uttar Pradesh government postpones elections to state’s Shia Waqf Board

LUCKNOW: Bowing to the wishes of prominent Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad Naqvi the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday postponed elections to the state’s Shia Waqf Board. The decision came hours after Kalbe Jawwad held a 40-minute meeting with ruling Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday night. It followed a war of words spread over several days between the cleric and the state’s minister of minority welfare Azam Khan.
Khan, who is known for his tantrums, is said to have gone into a sulk over the Akhilesh Yadav government’s decision to postpone the Shia Waqf Board elections. The tussle between Khan and the cleric, who enjoys mass following among Shia Muslims, had last week spilled on to the streets of Lucknow with violent clashes between supporters of the cleric and police.

Kalbe Jawwad had accused Khan of trying to manipulate the Shia Waqf Board elections and nominating his own aide as the chairman. The cleric claimed this was being done to usurp the vast properties of the Shia Waqf Board and illegally benefit Khan. On his call, thousands of men had marched towards the official residence of Khan in Lucknow but were stopped by the police, which resulted in pitched battles between the two sides.

One person was killed and more than 40 others injured in the clashes. Kalbe Jawwad had warned of another protest march if the Shia Waqf Board polls were not postponed. Khan, however, had claimed that the elections were being held as per law and none of his supporters were in the fray. He said Kalbe Jawwad was opposing him as he had as the minister of minority affairs stopped the misuse of the Shia Waqf Board..

On Sunday, Kalbe Jawwad had accused Khan of corruption and misusing government funds to get Ali Jauhar University established in Rampur. He said that contractors and businessmen were being forced to make donations to the university, which was essentially a private university controlled by Khan.