Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad demanded the arrest of UP Shia Central Waqf Board chairperson Wasim Rizvi for his controversial demand of banning madarsas on the premise that they were breeding extremism and had jehadi links. Jawwad said that if immediate action was not taken against Rizvi then clerics would launch an agitation in UP, Delhi and other States.
“Shia Waqf Board chairman is talking nonsense. He is a buffoon and levelling serious allegations against madarsas without any substance. I am at my wits end to understand as to why the State Government was patronising a person like Rizvi,’’ said the Shia cleric.
Jawwad and Rizvi had crossed swords during the Samajwadi Party regime and the former even spearheaded a violent agitation demanding the Shia Waqf Board chairman’s dismissal accusing him of corrupt practices and selling Waqf properties worth crores of rupees.
Jawwad said that Rizvi was misusing his office and deliberately issuing provocative statements to vitiate the atmosphere.