Waqf board captured by mafia: Centre counters Opposition outcry on reform Bill

Waqf board captured by mafia: Centre counters Opposition outcry on reform Bill

A war of words broke out in the Lok Sabha as the government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with the Opposition alleging that the proposed legislation targets minorities and is unconstitutional. The government rebuffed these claims.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Lok Sabha on Thursday. 

Opposition alleges bill is draconian and targets a particular religious group.

Government says Waqf bill not anti-Muslim aims to bring transparency. Moreover, it will streamline registration of Waqf properties through central portal. 

 Rijiju on Thursday introduced a bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards, drawing protests from Opposition MPs.

 The government, which will have a big say in regulating Waqf properties, rebuffed the Opposition's allegations and said the Waqf board was captured by the mafia. 

The bill proposes renaming the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, and aims to streamline the manner of registration of Waqf properties through a central portal.

OPPOSITION SAYS BILL AGAINST MINORITIES

Congress leader KC Venugopal said the bill was "draconian" and a "fundamental attack" on the Constitution. He alleged that the bill would create religious divisions and hate between communities.

"There is a dispute in each and every mosque where there is no deed. Your fundamental idea is to create conflict and create anger between the communities and make violence everywhere," he said.

Venugopal linked the Waqf bill to the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana.

"This bill is a fundamental attack on the Constitution. Through this bill, they are putting in a provision that non-Muslims will also be members of the Waqf governing 

Calling the bill a "direct attack on freedom of religion", Venugopal slammed the Centre, saying, "Next you will go for Christians, then Jains. People of India will not buy this kind of divisive politics now."

"We are Hindus, but at the same time, we respect the faith of other religions. This bill is specialised for the Maharashtra and Haryana elections. You do not understand that last time the people of India clearly taught you a lesson. This is an attack on the federal system," he said.

DMK MP Kanimozhi said the bill violated Article 30, which deals with minorities to administer their institutions. "This bill targets a particular religious group," she said. 

Supriya Sule, who represents her father Sharad Pawar's faction in NCP, demanded that the bill should either be withdrawn or sent to a standing committee. 

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi opposed the bill.

"The bill violates all principles of the judiciary. The government is restricting the management of the Waqf board. Hindu boards are recognised by usage and custom. You are stopping me from praying," he said.

Calling the government anti-Muslim, Owaisi added, "A Hindu can give his complete property, but I cannot give it in the name of Allah. No such provision exists for Hindu boards or the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee."

Other key changes proposed in the bill include the formation of a Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards, which would have representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims.

The proposed bill, if enacted, will make the District Collector the arbiter on whether a property is Waqf property or government land.

BILL NOT DISCRIMINATORY, CENTRE REBUFFS

Rijiju said the bill does not advocate any interference in the freedom of any religious organisation. "Forget about taking anyone’s rights, this bill has been brought to give rights to those who never got them," he added.

"This bill being brought today is based on the report of Sachar committee, which you made (Congress)," he said, adding that Muslims were being misled due to partisan politics.

In 2005, a seven-member high-level panel headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar was formulated by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to study the social, economic and educational condition of Muslims in India.

Rijiju said the "Waqf board was captured by the mafia" and that the government received over a hundred land grabbing complaints.

Union Minister and JD(U) member Rajiv Ranjan Singh, responded to the allegations of Opposition members, and clarified that the bill was not anti-Muslim. He said the bill was inclusive.

"This law is being made to bring transparency. The Opposition is comparing it with temples. They are diverting from the main issue. KC Venugopal should explain how thousands of Sikhs were killed. Which taxi driver killed Indira Gandhi? Now, they are talking about minorities," he said.

The TDP, a key ally of BJP-led NDA, apart from the JD(U), backed the Waqf bill and said it was the government's responsibility to bring reforms and streamline the purpose. He also said the government had no issues with sending the bill to the select committee.

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