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Several Opposition parties have said they would resist any plans by the government to bring a Bill in Parliament to make changes in the Waqf Act, 1995. The BJP has said such a Bill is necessary to bring “transparency” in the management of waqf properties across the country. The Congress, though, is yet to comment on the issue.
Government sources told The Indian Express that as many as 40 amendments to the Act are under consideration, including curtailing the powers of waqf boards, through a Bill likely to be tabled in Parliament this week. Among other things, the amendments will make it mandatory to include women in waqf bodies, said sources in the government, adding that “the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community”.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiu said Monday that continuous demands and representations had been made by the community to make the regulation of waqf properties more “transparent” and “efficient”, as per a report by PTI. However, the minister did not comment on whether there were plans for a Bill.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said his party will oppose any such Bill, and accused the Narendra Modi government of “trying to snatch the rights of Muslims”, adding: “First, they snatched the rights of Anglo-Indians by snatching the representation they had in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.”
SP MP from Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, Zia ur Rahman Barq said that whenever the NDA government brings a Bill, it claims it is for the benefit of a community. “I want to ask them if the farm Bills (since withdrawn) were in the interests of farmers? If their intention was clear, they should have spoken to intellectuals in the (Muslim) community (over the Waqf Act). But their intentions are not right; they want to take control of waqf boards and suppress the Muslim community,” he said.
“The BJP’s only work is to divide Hindus and Muslims, and take away the rights given to Muslims by the Constitution,” Barq added.
RJD president Tejashwi Yadav also accused the BJP government of doing politics to “create a division between Hindus and Muslims”. “You must understand one thing: The Central government is not working for public welfare. They don’t care about the poor, inflation, or unemployment… The BJP does not care about all this. They only want to divide and do Hindu-Muslim for their political gains,” said Yadav.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi claimed that the BJP-led government came up with the waqf issue as it wants to run away from any discussion on the Budget. “Until it is tabled in Parliament, I won’t like to comment on it,” she added.
CPI(M) MP Amra Ram said the BJP does “divisive politics”, and instead of strengthening waqf boards, they are trying to interfere with them. “Instead of providing education and employment to the minorities, they have always attacked their rights… If they continue with this divisive rhetoric, we showed them a trailer in 2024, and will now show them the full movie,” he said, hinting at the fall in the BJP’s Lok Sabha tally, to below the majority mark.
Another CPI(M) MP, Sudama Prasad, said: “Why don’t you bring a Bill to deal with unemployment? They are only looking at divisive agendas 24×7, like Mandir-Masjid and Hindustan-Pakistan.”
Asked about the government’s plans regarding the Waqf Act, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Mahua Maji said instead of taking a one-sided view, the government should listen to all stakeholders before making any amendments.
The IUML’s E T Mohammed Basheer questined the intentions behind the reported move. “They want to take custody of waqf properties. If such a legislation comes, we will strongly oppose it. We will also speak with like-minded parties,” he told journalists outside Parliament on Monday. He added that if the government brings the Bill, it should “be prepared for strong opposition”.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had Sunday said that any interference with the legal status and the powers of waqf boards will not be tolerated. It urged NDA allies and Opposition parties to “completely reject any such move” and not allow such amendments to be passed in Parliament.
AIMPLB spokesperson S Q R Ilyas said the Board appeals to all Muslims and their religious and milli (social) organisations to unite against this “malicious act of the government”. The Board will take all kinds of legal and democratic measures to thwart this move, he said in a statement.
Asked about changes to the Waqf Act, BJP MP Trivendra Singh Rawat said doing away “shortcomings” in it would be a good thing. “I have myself seen that there are internal conflicts in waqf boards, and that their properties are being misused. Powerful elements within the Muslim community are misusing these properties,” he said outside Parliament.
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said the Modi government runs on transparency, and only those “who are scamsters” object to transparency.
