The Janata Dal (United) is facing internal turmoil after a third senior minority leader, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, General Secretary of JD(U) Minority Department, tendered his resignation on Friday, citing the party’s support for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 as a betrayal of the Muslim community.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to JD(U) National President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Siddiqui expressed deep disappointment, saying the party had deviated from its foundational principles.
“I believed that JDU would always stand for secularism, social justice, and the protection of minority rights. But supporting this bill has shaken my faith,” Siddiqui wrote.
He further lamented that decisions taken by people close to Nitish Kumar had distanced JD(U) from its core ideology.
“This type of decision has been taken against the Muslim community that supported the party for the last 19 years. This act is a betrayal of the trust of millions of supporters who repeatedly made you reach the post of Chief Minister,” he added.
“My conscience does not allow me to stay in JDU anymore. I am resigning from the party with immediate effect,” the letter concluded.
This latest resignation adds to the growing dissent within JD(U)’s minority wing. Earlier, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik, the Minority State Secretary, also stepped down, writing to Nitish Kumar that his belief in the party’s secularism had been broken.
“Millions of Indian Muslims like us had the firm belief that you are the flag bearer of purely secular ideology. But now this belief has been broken,” Malik wrote.
He also criticized JD(U) MP Lallan Singh’s speech in the Lok Sabha, calling it disrespectful and hurtful to the sentiments of Muslims.
Likewise, Mohammed Kasim Ansari, another prominent minority leader, submitted his resignation citing the same reason.
“The stand taken by JD(U) regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2024 has deeply hurt millions of dedicated Indian Muslims and party workers like me,” Ansari wrote in his letter.
The resignations come at a sensitive time, as Bihar gears up for the upcoming assembly elections, and the party faces increasing pressure from within and outside over its support of the controversial Waqf legislation.
Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 after a marathon debate, with Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announcing the passage with 128 votes in favor and 95 against. The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, was also passed, further intensifying debate around the issue.