With the Budget session of Parliament underway, the Urdu dailies have continued to track the discussions being undertaken on the affairs of various ministries in both the Houses. The dailies have kept their focus on the row triggered by the government’s proposal to bring a legislation to amend the Waqf Act. While government sources have framed the move as a measure to reform the administration of the vast waqf properties, in order to make the same “more transparent and efficient”, the dailies have highlighted widespread concerns among Muslims as well as Opposition parties, calling it a bid to undermine the minority community’s agency and constitutional rights. URDU TIMES Referring to the Narendra Modi government’s proposed Bill to amend the Waqf Act on governance of Waqf Boards, which control waqf properties and assets across the country, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on August 5, says that this has sparked a massive row as the properties in question are Muslim endowments supposed to be used for the community’s welfare and development. “The ruling BJP is bent on making 40 amendments to the waqf law in a bid to ensure government control over the waqf properties, which would be carried out through collectors in every district,” it says. “This would hobble the Waqf Boards as they would have to seek the administration’s clearance to acquire any waqf properties or make any changes in them or build a mosque or madrasa on them.” The daily says these Muslim assets worth lakhs of crores have anyways largely been under effective control of politicians and the government instead of community organisations, but that an amended law would hand over their control legally to the government. “Many madrasas run by Waqf Boards would face the brunt of this move, even as they are already being targeted in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, which would be in contravention of Article 30 (right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions),” it states. The editorial notes that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has strongly opposed the proposed legislation. “When the Bill to amend the Waqf Act is taken up in Parliament, the Opposition is also expected to oppose it. Even if the Modi government pushes the Bill through the Lok Sabha, it would be difficult for it to do so in the Rajya Sabha where it does not enjoy a majority,” the edit adds. SALAR Highlighting the ruling of the seven-judge Supreme Court Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, allowing states to sub-classify Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to empower the more backward groups among them, the Bengaluru-based Salar, in its leader on August 3, calls it a landmark judgment. “Through its verdict, the apex court has settled the question whether the entire SC/ST groups should be considered as homogeneous or not, overturning the 2004 verdict of the five-judge Supreme Court Bench in the case of E V Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh, which had held that the SCs constituted a homogeneous category that cannot be sub-classified,” the editorial says, adding that the ruling would have wide-ranging ramifications. The daily writes that the apex court’s judgment has provided states an opportunity to ensure equitable quota within quotas for the more deprived of these socially-disadvantaged communities, but on the basis of empirical data. “The top court has thus sought to ensure that this exercise is not used for cynical political purposes,” the editorial states. “Although the court’s judgment is by a 6-1 majority, with Justice Bela M Trivedi being the lone dissenter, it reflects multiple viewpoints of the judges as reflected in their five concurring but separate rulings,” the edit notes, saying that it flags various issues for continued discussions ranging from the castes and reservation system to the concept of “creamy layer”. “The verdict marks a major intervention by the apex court at the policy level, which could also be the guiding light on the sensitive reservation issue in the future,” it adds. ROZNAMA RASHTRIYA SAHARA Commenting on the row over BJP leader and ex-Union minister Anurag Thakur’s purported jibe at Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on his caste, the multi-edition Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, in its August 1 editorial, says Gandhi remains the “sole target” of the BJP top brass in the House, ranging from PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others, with Thakur now joining the list by seeking to attack Gandhi over his continued pitch for a caste census. Participating in the debate on the Budget, Gandhi flagged the plight of various sections including students, youths, farmers and labourers, charging that the Budget has “failed” them, the editorial notes. Gandhi alleged that the Budget was only aimed at benefiting a handful of people as it was prepared by officials who do not belong to the deprived communities such as the SC/ST/OBCs, it says, adding that his speech saw repeated interventions from Speaker Om Birla. Noting that Thakur made “derogatory remarks” against Gandhi while attacking him, the edit says: “What is surprising is that rather than reprimanding him, PM Modi shared his speech on social media, endorsing it as a ‘must hear’ for ‘exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance’.” The editorial notes that Congress MP and ex-Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against PM Modi for posting Thakur’s entire speech on social media, including the “expunged” portions. “Besides Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, some INDIA bloc leaders like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have also condemned Thakur’s remarks,” the edit says. “Identity politics remains a defining feature of the BJP’s politics, but parliamentary dignity and decorum must be upheld.”
