Waqf (Amendment) Bill referred to JPC

New Delhi: A heated debate in the Lok Sabha was witnessed during the introduction of Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Thursday and later it was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further scrutiny.

During the debate, the government asserted that the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques but the Opposition called it targeting of Muslims and an attack on the Constitution.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he will talk with leaders of all parties for constituting the Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Introducing the Bill, Union Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju faced stiff Opposition from the INDIA bloc, with Congress MP K C Venugopal accusing the government of violating the right to freedom of religion and claiming the legislation was being brought with an eye on the upcoming state assembly elections.

“This is a draconian law and a fundamental attack on the Constitution,” Venugopal said, warning that the BJP’s divisive politics would not be tolerated and that the party would soon target Christians and Jains.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav echoed these sentiments, alleging that the Bill was being introduced to appease the BJP’s hardcore supporters. He questioned the rationale of including non-Muslims on Waqf boards when this was not done for other religious bodies.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule went a step further, saying her party opposed the Bill as it was against a particular minority community. “Look at what is happening in Bangladesh, there is so much pain. It is the moral duty of a country to protect minorities,” she said, demanding that the government withdraw the Bill and start a fair and just discussion.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chairperson Asaduddin Owaisi went on the offensive, claiming that the Lok Sabha did not have the competence to make the proposed amendments, which he said were a “grave attack on the basic structure of the Constitution” and violated the principle of judicial independence and separation of powers.

“You are enemies of Muslims and this Bill is evidence of that,” Owaisi asserted.

Kiren Rijiju staunchly defended the government’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill, accusing the Opposition of misleading the Muslim community and failing to reform the management of Islamic endowment properties.

Countering the Opposition’s arguments, Rijiju asserted that the proposed changes to the 1995 Waqf Act were necessary as the previous Congress-led government had not achieved the required reforms.

“Because you couldn’t do it, we had to bring these amendments...Some people have captured Waqf boards and this Bill has been brought to give justice to ordinary Muslims,” he said, claiming that many Opposition leaders had privately acknowledged the Waqf boards had turned into a “mafia.”

Rijiju pointed out that the earlier law lacked provisions to challenge or review the orders or judgments of the Waqf tribunals, which he said were “above the provisions of the Constitution.”

“In our country, no law can be a super law and that can’t be above the Constitution. However, in the 1995 Waqf Act, there are provisions that are above the provisions in the Constitution. Shouldn’t that be changed?” he asked, accusing the Opposition of the “wrongs” they had done.

The minister stressed that the provisions in the proposed law are based on multiple inquiry reports over the years and wide-ranging consultations with lakhs of stakeholders.

To bolster his arguments, Rijiju cited several instances of alleged encroachment and illegality by Waqf bodies, including the declaration of a 1,500-year-old temple in Tamil Nadu and the Surat Municipal Corporation headquarters as Waqf properties.

“I am a Buddhist, not Hindu or Muslim, but I respect all religions. Don’t see this as a religious issue. Is the municipal corporation a private property? How can municipal property be declared Waqf property?” he questioned.

Rijiju also pointed to a 1976 inquiry report that had recommended steps to discipline Waqf boards and the Sachar committee’s recommendations for more representation in these bodies, telling the Opposition: “You should be happy, you made this committee.”

Emphasising the provision in the proposed law for the representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani, and other backward classes among Muslims, Rijiju said: “If one community is crushing smaller communities, how can this Parliament allow it?”

The minister accused the Opposition of rooting for a small section of people capturing power in these bodies and claimed there was widespread discontent within the Muslim community with the Waqf authorities.

Rijiju stressed that the provisions in the Bill do not interfere with religious freedom or violate the Constitution in any way, and he accused the Opposition of misleading Muslims.

“The Opposition shouldn’t see such issues through the prism of religion,” he said, assuring that the Waqf board income will be used only for the welfare of the Muslim community.

“It is my good fortune that being non-Muslim, I am getting the opportunity to bring a Bill for the welfare of Muslims,” Rijiju remarked.

The minister also introduced a Bill to repeal the Mussalman Waqf Act, 1923, stating that the colonial-era legislation has become outdated and inadequate for the effective management of Waqf property in modern India.

NDA allies JD(U), TDP, Shiv Sena and LJP backed the Bill to amend the 1995 Act, saying it was aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Boards and was not an attempt to interfere with the running of mosques.

JD(U) leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ said: “Several members are making it sound as if the amendment in the Waqf Board law is anti-Muslim. How is it anti-Muslim? Here example of Ayodhya is being given... Can you not differentiate between a temple and an institution?”

The Bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the 1995 Act, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.

According to its statement of objects and reasons, the Bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law relating to the powers of the board to decide if a property is Waqf property.

It provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards, and proposes to establish a separate board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis. It provides for representation of Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agakhanis and other backward classes among Muslims.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill also aims at renaming the Act as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.