New Delhi: Calling the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 “unconstitutional”, “anti-Muslim” and “divisive”, a united Opposition came down heavily on the Centre Thursday for introducing it in Lok Sabha, forcing the House to refer the Bill to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.
The Bill proposes sweeping changes to the Waqf Act of 1995, including redefining ‘waqf’, curtailing the power of waqf boards, giving the Centre the power to frame rules, allowing inclusion of non-Muslim members in waqf boards, among others. Some 44 amendments have been proposed in the Waqf Act, 1995.
Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha, said the government is open to consultation on it and a joint committee will be constituted soon with members from across parties to discuss the provisions of the Bill. However, he vociferously rejected the Opposition’s charge that the Bill is “anti-constitutional, “anti-Muslim” and that the Centre does not have the legislative competence to bring amendments on issues related to waqf boards.
Barring NDA allies Shiv Sena, JD(U) and TDP, opposition MPs led by the Congress attacked the government demanding that the Bill be either withdrawn or referred to a parliamentary committee. Congress’s K.C. Venugopal said the Bill is a “fundamental attack” on the Constitution. “We are Hindus but at the same time, we respect the faith of other religions…it’s a direct attack on rights to religion and violates Article 26 (of the Constitution, which pertains to freedom to manage religious affairs),” he said.
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‘Were non-Hindus part of Ram temple committee?’
Venugopal further said that the Bill, through amendments, proposes to make non-Muslims members of the governing body of state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council.
“I would like to ask a question. Supreme Court constituted the board of Ayodhya (Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra), whether anybody can think that non-Hindu can be part of the Ayodhya mandir board,” he said, alleging that the Bill had been brought with an eye on Haryana and Maharashtra elections.
“You do not understand that last time the people of India clearly taught you a lesson…this kind of divisive politics, India will not accept. It’s an attack on the federal system, freedom of religion…,” he added.
Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress said the Bill violates Article 14 of the Constitution that mandates that the state shall not deny any person equality before the law.
The DMK’s Kanimozhi said it’s a sad day in Parliament as many members in the House who took oath with the Constitution in hand are today going against it. She questioned the provision of allowing non-Muslims to be part of waqf boards. “Would you allow non-Hindus to be part of a Hindu committee…Is it not unfair, against the law of natural justice?” she asked
She further said: “…It is a direct violation of Article 30 which allows minorities to administer their institutions. This Bill targets a particular religious group…It will destroy what our forefathers dreamt for this country.”
NCP’s Supriya Sule charged the government with leaking the Bill to the media before introducing it in Parliament. “The MPs found out about the Waqf Amendment (Bill) from the media, not the Parliament. Is this the new way to introduce Bills? This should not be a pattern.”
Akhilesh Yadav, head of the Samajwadi Party, the second largest opposition party in Lok Sabha after Congress, alleged that the BJP has brought the Bill to appease their hardline supporters after the setback in the Lok Sabha elections.
“When there is a democratic process for election, why nominate people? No person from outside the community is part of other religious bodies. What is the point of including non-Muslims in waqf bodies?” he asked.
Yadav’s remark that the government is out to curtail not only the rights of the Opposition but also the Speaker led to a face-off with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who called it an insult of the Chair.
“…The rights of the Speaker do not belong to the Opposition, but to the whole House. Don’t speak in a roundabout way. You are not the protector of the Speaker’s rights,” Shah said.
Among the two NDA allies – JD(U) and TDP – who supported the bill, Union minister and JD(U) leader Rajeev Ranjan Singh said those calling the amendments anti-Muslim do not understand the difference between mandirs (temple) and boards. “… there is no attempt being made to tinker with mosques,” he said.
Adding that the bill is aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of waqf boards, Singh alleged that the Opposition is trying to mislead the people on this issue. A minister in the Union government, he also referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and said it is ironic that those who indulged in killing thousands of Sikhs are calling the bill “anti-Muslim.”
Supporting the bill, TDP’s G.M. Harish (Balayogi) said registration of waqf properties will help poor Muslims, especially women, and bring transparency. He added that if wider consultations are needed to allay misconceptions, and to educate the Muslim community about this bill, “we have no problem (in it) being sent to the select committee”.
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP N.K. Premachandran accused the government of trying to disempower the waqf board and the waqf council through the amendments. “…You are dismantling the system. It is against the principles of the Constitution,” he said, cautioning the government that if the Bill goes for judicial scrutiny, it would be struck down on constitutional grounds.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the government does not have the legislative competence to bring the Bill.
Owaisi said the Bill violates the principles of Articles 14, 15, and 25 of the Constitution. He said waqf management of a property is an essential religious practice for Muslims, adding that denying it legal recognition amounts to severely curtailing how Muslims manage their waqf properties.
“You are enemy of Muslims and this Bill is proof of that,” Owaisi added.
Defending the Bill, Rijiju said it aims at giving rights to those who never got them. He blamed the Opposition for misleading the people about the intention of the proposed Bill.
Rijiju said the government had to bring the amendments as the previous Congress governments could not do it. He said extensive consultations had happened prior to introducing the bill.
“The consultations on the bill started in 2015…,” he said.
Bill brought to give justice to ordinary Muslims, says Rijiju
Rijiju further said that the Sachar committee, which was constituted by the UPA had in its report recommended that the present waqf board should be broad-based and poor women and children should be empowered.
The minority affairs minister said the government had received several complaints about the misuse of waqf properties. He cited the example of the Surat Municipal Corporation headquarters. The entire property was declared as waqf property, he said.
“In Karnataka, in 2012, a report of the Karnataka Minorities Commission said the Karnataka Waqf Board converted 29,000 acres to commercial land. “Can you do it? Everybody knows that waqf properties are used for religious, charitable and pious purposes.”
Rijiju said the Bill has been brought to give justice to ordinary Muslims. He claimed that many leaders in the Opposition had privately told him that state waqf boards had turned into mafia. “I won’t take their names and destroy their political careers,” he added.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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