‘Political decision to snatch Muslims’ power’: Mamata Banerjee targets Centre over Waqf Bill

Mamata Banerjee said the TMC is leading the movement against the Bill which she claimed was “brought without consulting state governments”.

Mamata Banerjee claimed that the TMC has been leading the movement from the front against this Bill “from the very first day”. (File Photo)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Centre for introducing the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, saying it was a “political decision” to “snatch the power of Muslims”. She also alleged that the Centre took an “anti-federal approach” in bringing the Bill without consulting state governments.

Banerjee claimed that the TMC has been leading the movement from the front against this Bill “from the very first day”.

During the Winter Session of the state Assembly, which started on November 25, Banerjee’s government may also bring a resolution opposing the Centre’s proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

“We are saying this bill is anti-national because it is violating the right of religion and the right of equality. We can’t support this,” she said during her speech.

She said, “The Bill was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Centre only gave advertisements like recruitment notices and asked for necessary suggestions.” Claiming that the Waqf board has branches in every state, she said, “The central government should consult with state governments. However, after seeing the advertisement, we sent some concrete proposals but that was not included.”

She said, “Every religion has a trust board. In the Waqf board, not only Muslims but many Hindus also donate land for development. The Central government is snatching that power as well.”

Banerjee also claimed that the West Bengal government is taking several steps for the development of the minority community.

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Mamata Banerjee