Photo by Ankush Raj
Prashant Kishor Blames Nitish Kumar Over Waqf Bill Support
Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, has launched a strong attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his support for the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025. Kishor accused Kumar of betraying the Muslim community by endorsing a bill that has faced widespread opposition from Muslim organizations and leaders. He argued that the bill is being advanced without adequate consultation with the communities it directly affects.
According to Kishor, while the BJP has never positioned itself as a party of the Muslim electorate, it is leaders like Nitish Kumar—who have historically claimed to represent secular and inclusive values—who are now enabling the passage of a law that many Muslims view with suspicion and fear. He described Kumar’s actions as hypocritical, especially given his frequent invocations of iconic leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Jayaprakash Narayan.
Kishor went on to claim that the current government does not hold a true majority in the Lok Sabha and suggested that if Nitish Kumar were to withdraw his support, the Waqf Bill would not succeed. He said that history would remember Kumar’s role in the bill’s passage more critically than that of the BJP, as the latter has made no secret of its ideological stance.
Prashant Kishor recently participated in a protest rally against the Waqf Amendment Bill organized by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in Patna. His involvement reflects his party’s broader strategy to appeal to Muslim voters, many of whom have traditionally supported the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Kishor is positioning Jan Suraaj as an alternative force, challenging what he describes as a politics of fear that has bound Muslim support to a narrow political spectrum.
He also directly accused Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United), of abandoning the Muslim community and acting against their interests by standing with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on the controversial legislation.
Despite opposition from parties and organizations including the AIMPLB, the bill is likely to pass due to the NDA’s numerical strength in both houses of Parliament. Nonetheless, Kishor’s criticism has intensified political discourse around the bill and raised uncomfortable questions for those in the ruling alliance who seek to maintain a secular political image.
