Ranchi, Apr 3 (PTI) AJSU party chief Sudesh Mahto on Thursday supported the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and termed it a "historic move".

He said his party's MP supported the Bill in the Lok Sabha and also offered a suggestion to improve it.

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"The party MP (Chandra Prakash Choudhary) gave his support to the bill on Wednesday and also made a suggestion, which was to include the participation of the poor and women of the community in it," Mahto said, addressing media persons on the sidelines of a divisional-level workshop to strengthen the party, which is a part of the NDA.

He said that the amendment was necessary. "I would say it is a historic move. It should not be seen from the perspective of votes," he added.

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Speaking about the party's strategy to strengthen the organisation, he said they discussed several issues during the workshop and decided to bolster the party at the village and panchayat levels in the state.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) criticised the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya alleged that the central government was eyeing the land held by the Waqf through this amendment.

"In the entire amendment process, no advice was taken from any of the states, even though land is a state subject. The amendment was not brought for the benefit of any society but to mislead people. It is a preparation to keep the nation divided," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)