Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says Modi government aims to bring in reforms to give justice to ordinary Muslims as Waqf Boards have been captured by a handful of people
Staff Reporter
The controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Thursday (August 8, 2024) after Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced it in the Lok Sabha, amid strong protest from the Opposition parties, alleging that the Bill was aimed at targeting the Muslim community.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a two-hour long debate at the time of introduction, following which it was decided that the Bill would be sent to a JPC. Speaker Om Birla informed the House that he would constitute the joint panel after consulting the leaders of all the parties.
Opposition parties called the proposed amendments to the Waqf law “an attack on the Constitution, interfering with religious matters and against the spirit of federalism”. Leading the charge, senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal called it a “draconian” Bill and alleged that it was brought with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Earlier, moving the bill, the Minister clarified that this bill is not intended to interfere with the functioning of religious bodies and is to provide justice to the disadvantaged and poor sections of the Muslim community. Questioning the opposition’s claim that the central government has no competency to bring such legislation, he said, the subject comes under the concurrent list of the Constitution and the centre is competent enough to legislate on it. Mr Rijiju said the legislation has been brought in accordance with the various recommendations of the Sachar Committee and various committees set up by the previous governments. He added that there are several lacunas in the functioning of Waqf Boards and groups of people have captured the Bodies. He highlighted that the legislation has been brought to bring transparency and ensure proper representation of Muslim women, and the OBC community in Muslims. The Minister highlighted that around 12 thousand cases are pending related to Waqf Boards and this bill has provision to dispose of such cases within six months. He informed that around 200 complaints within a year were received with regard to encroachment-related problems in Waqf Board properties. He rejected opposition allegations that the bill had been brought without proper consultation with the stakeholders. The Minister asserted that wider consultations were held with stakeholders before bringing this legislation. Highlighting the provisions of the Bill, he said, in the Waqf Board Tribunal, there will be one judicial and one technical member.
Earlier, opposing the introduction of the bill, Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK, NCP (SP), Left and others termed it as against the constitution and freedom of religion. Congress MP K C Venugopal objected to the introduction of the bill alleging that it is draconian and an attack on the federal structure of the country. He said the bill has provisions for having non-muslims in the governing council of the Waqf board which is an attack on faith and religion. He alleged that this bill has been brought with ill motive keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav questioned the provision of the nomination of members in the Waqf Board from other religious communities. Another party leader Habibbullah also opposed the bill saying Waqf is a religious matter and this legislation is interference in religious practice. Sudip Bandhopadhya of TMC termed this legislature unconstitutional and it is against the federal structure. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi also opposed the legislation. She alleged that the government is blatantly going against the constitution, federalism and minorities. NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule demanded withdrawal of the bill or sending it to the Standing Committee for further scrutiny. ET Mohammed Basheer of IUML also questioned the Bill saying the legislation has given all the power to the District Magistrate who will be more powerful than the Chairman of the Waqf Board. CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan also opposed the bill demanding sending it to the Standing Committee. NK Premachandran of RSP opposed the bill saying it is against the provisions of the constitution. He said this bill will not stand before judicial scrutiny. Opposing the Bill, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM said, the bill is discriminatory.
On the other hand, Senior JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh rejected the allegations that this bill is against a particular community. He said the Waqf board is an institution set up through the Act and this legislation has been brought to bring transparency to it. He underlined that the Waqf board is not a place for worshipping and the allegation of interfering in the matter of faith does not arise. He alleged that the opposition is trying to mislead the people over the bill. Mr Singh referred to the Sikh riots in Delhi to target Congress. TDP MP GM Harish Balayogi said, if power is misused related to the Waqf Board, it is necessary to bring amendments to maintain transparency. He said, that if the legislation will be sent to the Select Committee for wider discussion to remove all misconceptions, TDP will support it.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is intended to overcome the shortcomings and to enhance the efficiency of the administration and management of the waqf properties. The Bill has provision of renaming of the Waqf Act, 1995 as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995. It also provides the functions of the Survey Commissioner to the Collector or any other officer not below the rank of Deputy Collector duly nominated by the Collector for the survey of waqf properties. It also has provision for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards and ensures the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims. It also provides for the establishment of a separate Board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis, and representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani and other backward classes among Muslim communities. The Bill also has provisions for reforming the Tribunal structure with two members and providing for appeals against the orders of the Tribunal to the High Court within a specified period of ninety days.
The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill 2024 was also introduced in the House to repeal the Mussalman Waft Act 1923.