‘Bid to make us second-class citizens’: Asaduddin Owaisi leads Waqf Bill criticism by minority MPs in Opposition

He said: “Yeh Bill ka maqsad sirf muslamanon ko jaleel aur ruswa karna haa, musalmanon ko dusre darje ka shehri banane ka inka maksad hai (The objective of this bill is to insult and humiliate Muslims and make Muslims second-class citizens).” He said the BJP is looking to spark clashes in the country in the name of temples and mosques.

On the government flagging encroachment on Waqf properties, Owaisi said: “If this is an issue, why did the government in 2024 withdraw the Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill that was introduced by a minister in 2014?”

He called the Bill an attack on his freedom. “Shariat, mosques and madrasas are being targeted,” he said.

The MPs red-flagged several provisions of the Bill, including a stipulation allowing only those who have been practising Muslims for at least five years to allocate their property to Waqf, questioned the functioning of the House panel that cleared the Bill, and expressed fears of legal conflicts over Waqf properties.

Calling the Bill unconstitutional, Congress’s Imran Masood asked the government how it would define a “practising Muslim”. “What is your definition? All Muslims do not offer namaz five times, all Muslims do not observe Roza. What will be the criteria?” he asked.

Masood also said that of the 22 members in the Waqf council, 12 would be non-Muslims, giving them a majority. He said there is a clause that says that if a district magistrate is a Muslim, a junior or a senior officer will be the ex-officio chairman.

Masood said that the Bill opens the door to legal tussles involving Waqf properties.

‘Objective is to weaken Waqf’

Samajwadi Party’s Rampur MP Mohibbullah said: “The objective of this Bill is to weaken the institution of Waqf and make it ineffective.”

Referring to the meetings of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Mohibbullah said: “I had questioned how many Muslim scholars were engaged in drafting this Bill. There was only one person in the 12-member committee.”

On the “practising Muslims” provision, Mohibbullah said he himself is an Imam and even an Imam can’t issue a “practising Muslim” certificate to anyone.

IUML member E T Mohammed Basheer targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming he was pretending to help minorities. He said the government was undermining all statutory bodies.

Congress’s Mohammad Jawed said the Bill aimed to bring Waqf institutions under government control. “The changes being made in the clauses will lead to conflicts. Legal cases will continue for a longer period. I appeal to you to take the opinion of Muslims,” Jawed said.

He called the House panel a mockery. He said that in 25 meetings that were held, around 300 organisations and 3,000 people were invited and everyone got an average of 10-15 seconds. Jawed also pointed out how a clause-by-clause discussion did not take place.

“The government is targeting Muslims since it has come to power, through CAA, triple talaq and others… They do politics against Muslims and don’t give us our rights. This Bill keeps society in a state of permanent polarisation.” Jawed said.

‘Provision for women members is tokenism’

SP’s Iqra Choudhary pointed to the government’s assertion of Muslim women getting representation on the Waqf boards. “Muslim women have been members of the boards before this law. There was a provision of a minimum of two, and more could have been members. What new thing has the government done?” she asked, calling the provision “tokenism”.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference’s Mian Altaf Ahmad called the Bill “illegal” and anti-minority. “This Bill will divide society. It puts a question mark on the secular character of the country,” Ahmad said.

Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman said the government was curtailing the powers of Waqf boards and tribunals so that it can easily take control of Waqf board properties.

“The people of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh will not forgive your allies if they support this bill,” Rehman told the BJP members.

Striking a different note, however, Independent MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh asked the Muslim community to introspect and find out how many hospitals, universities, colleges and schools were built by Waqfs.
Targeting the Congress, he said: “The world knows that the BJP openly reminds Muslims of their status. But the Congress stabs Muslims after dipping a dagger in the sweet juice of secularism.”

As several Congress opponents applauded his remark, Rashid asked them not to.

He said that India’s Muslims have an identity beyond a vote bank. “We are born on this soil and have an equal right to this country as Hindus. Why do Indian Muslims need to prove their identity and their loyalty?” he asked.