Community leaders come out in defense of Maharashtra Waqf board CEO
NGOs during a press conference defending Waqf CEO of Maharashtra (Courtesy: Urdutimes)
Muslim organizations and leaders come together in condemning board members attitude towards Waqf CEO Ajaz Hussain and formed Protective Awkaf Action Committee.
By A. Mirsab,
Malegaon (Maharashtra): After learning that the state waqf board CEO Syed Aejaz Hussain wrote to the government requesting to send him back to the judiciary due to alleged difficulties created in his working by board members, community leaders and NGOs have decided to run a statewide movement in his defence .
The leaders in a meeting on Thursday in Malegaon unanimously settled on staging the movement calling upon government to continue CEO Syed Aejaz Hussain in his position to bring in more reforms in the Board and to ensure that he is not troubled.
A judge of the rank of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Hussain took charge of the board in November 2013. Within a year of taking charge, he brought in reforms in the Board and managed to generate revenue and meet the expenditure without selling or even leasing out waqf properties in the state, a development unprecedented in the history of the board.
During his 15 months of working, community members admired and lauded his qualities of being upright and easily accessible. As per reports, his working style was not liked by some of the members of the board who were not cooperating with him and hence displeased with such environment he wrote to the Bombay High Court as well as the state government requesting repatriation to his mother department i.e. judiciary.
Community leaders and NGOs met in Malegaon to ponder their thoughts over the issue forming Protective Awqaf Action Committee and decided to raise the matter with the High Court and government.
Declaring support to Hussain, Maulana Abdul Hamid Azhari, the main organizer of the meeting said, “We are completely in support of Hussain sahib to continue in his position and allowing him conducive environment so that he may bring more benefits to the Board”.
On his advice Protective Awqaf Action Committee was formed in the meeting that will have responsible leaders, lawyers and trustees of mosques as members.
Asif Shaikh, INC MLA from Malegaon was also in the meeting. He said, “Hussain sahib is an upright and uncorrupt officer who brought many beneficial changes in the board, that too in a very less span of time. A person of his caliber has become a rarity in today’s world. It is unfortunate that because of self-centered members of the Board he had to request for transfer”.
He assured the meeting that he would raise the issue with the government in the Assembly session scheduled to begin from March 9th.
“In raising this matter before Assembly, I would work as per the directions of the Committee formed today so that injustice is not done to Hussain sahib”, he added.
Convening the gathering, Advocate Niyaz Ahmad Lodhi suggested of meeting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and bringing the issue to his notice and posed their demand of letting continue Hussain in his position.
“There are some people who have encroached on waqf properties and do not wish to see any non-corrupt officer working in the board. We need the incumbent CEO like him in the board to offer services”, he said.
After listening to the reports of Hussain writing to the government for repatriation, Aurangabad Central MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel of All Indian Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), who is presently on Umrah had said, “We need non-corrupt officials in every government department and the Wakf Board is no exception. Having an upright and non-corrupt CEO at the helm of properties running into crores of rupees is a must. I think the state government should ponder over it.”
