Rizvi aka Tyagi quits Shia Board

Ayodhya: Former Shia Waqf Board chairman Wasim Rizvi aka Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi on Tuesday, resigned from membership of the board and quit as mutawalli of waqfs headed by him. Resplendent in saffron attire, Rizvi walked into the Shia board meeting in Lucknow and announced his resignation even as a resolution was being tabled to annul his membership under Section 16(A) of Waqf Act, Shia Waqf Board chairman Ali Zaidi told TOI. Rizvi’s membership had become untenable after he embraced ‘sanatan dharma’ on December 6.

Rizvi aka Tyagi, who appeared before the board dressed in a saffron robe and sporting a spiralling yellow ‘tilak’ on forehead, is accused of corruption and facing probe from government agencies, including CBI.

Talking to TOI, Maulana Syed Raza Hussain Rizvi, member of Shia Waqf Board said, “As per the Waqf Act, only a Shia Muslim can be member of the board and the same condition applies for mutawallis of waqf properties. We were readying to sack him, but he appeared before the board and resigned from all waqf posts.”

In his resignation letter, Rizvi stated since he embraced ‘sanatan dharma’, he’s no longer a Shia Muslim and was severing all links with the community and the Shia Board.