In an abominable development, the controversial former Shia Waqf Board chairperson Waseem Rizvi who was expelled from his position was re-elected to the Board after being elected as its member from Mutawalli (caretaker of endowment property) quota. Rizvi got 21 out of 29.
Rizvi is the president of the All India Shia Yateem Khana and Mutawalli of Karbala Malka Jahan in Lucknow.
Along with him, Syed Faizi, a member of Bhartiya Janata Party and Mutawalli of Talkatora Imambara was also elected to the Board after he received the same number of votes as Rizvi.
The tenure of the earlier elected Board got terminated 10 months ago, meanwhile, an administrator was appointed by the Government. After the intervention of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, the new Board got constituted after the elections held on Tuesday.
However, a few Mutawallis and their supporters reportedly retaliated and objected over Rizvi being elected as a Board member.
Six Mutawallis contested the Board elections including Asfaq Hussain, Mutawalli of Mausoleum of Bahu Begum in Faizabad, Munshi Fazley Hussain, Mutawalli of Waqf Karbala in Unnao, Musharraf Hussain Rizvi and Asim Rizvi, Mutawalli of Nawab Shahenshah Begum in Lucknow.
Waseem Rizvi faces corruption charges and he was expelled from the fold of Islam after he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court demanding to delete some of the verses from the Holy Quran. He was disowned by his own family and denounced by the Muslim community after his move.
The Supreme Court, however, dismissed the PIL filed by Rizvi, and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 terming his petition as ‘absolutely frivolous’.
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Ghazala Ahmad is the Delhi Correspondent for The Cognate.
