Lucknow: Syed Wasim Rizvi, who recently converted to Hinduism, has quit the Shia Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh.
In a video, that has gone viral on the internet, the former Shia Central Waqf Board chairman is heard saying that he quit the top post along with primary membership of the Board.
After the conversion, Rizvi has christened himself as Jitendra Narayan Tyagi.
"I have quit the Chairman post of the Shia Central Board. I have also quit its elected membership. I have submitted my resignation papers to the incumbent president of the Shia Central Waqf Board. I have entered in the Santan Dharma,'' he added.
Rizvi also said that he will visit all the Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of the entire country and will appeal to the voters to vote for the welfare of the nation.
He added that he will also work for uniting all the Hindu people across the country.
Earlier, in this month, Rizvi had converted himself to Hinduism and decided to associate with the Tyagi community.
As a part of ritual, he poured milk on the Shiva linga at the Dasna Devi temple.
The ceremony held at 10.30 am in the presence of Narsinhanand Saraswati, the chief priest of the Dasna Devi Temple, then after a yagna Rizwi left Islam and converted to Hinduism, chanting vedic hymns. He also decided to change his name from Wasim Rizvi to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi.
Rizvi described the Sanatan Dharma as the world's purest religion after the ritual. He went on to say that he chose the holy day of December 6 to convert to Hinduism because it was on this day in 1992 that the Babari mosque was demolished.
"As of today, I will work for Hinduism." Muslims never vote for a political party. "They merely voted to defeat Hindus," Rizvi was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
Notably, Rizvi had sparked outrage last month, when he published the book 'Muhammad.' Many clerics in Uttar Pradesh were outraged by the book's cover, which depicted a male with a half-naked lady. They also charged him with making derogatory statements about Prophet Muhammad.
Waseem Rizvi also made a video where he revealed his suspicions that Muslim organisations were plotting to assassinate and behead him.
"My only crime is that I took the Quran to the Supreme Court and contested 26 verses. Muslims want to assassinate me and have sworn that I shall not be buried in any Muslim cemetery," he claimed in the video message.
Wasim Rizvi was too in the headlines for submitting a petition to have several Quran verses removed. He had petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that 26 Quran verses "promote terrorism."
The Supreme Court, however, dismissed the petition and fined Rizvi Rs 50,000.
Rizvi was sent official notifications by a number of religious organizations, including the All-India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB), and a few asked the state authorities to file an FIR.
Also watch: