- Friday, April 04, 2025
Seeking the opposition’s support to pass the Bill, Rijiju said it aims to accomplish the unfulfilled tasks of the previous governments
By: India Weekly
MINORITY AFFAIRS minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday (3) tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Rajya Sabha, asserting that the proposed legislation is not against Muslims or intended to hurt their religious feelings, but seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties, ensure transparency and introduce technology-driven management.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill with a 288-232 vote early Thursday after nearly 12 hours of debate.
Tabling the Bill in the Upper House, which was examined and redrafted by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Rijiju said the proposed legislation has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties.
The Bill aims to include all Muslim sects in the Waqf board, Rijiju said.
The minister informed the House that there were 4.9 lakh Waqf properties in 2004, which have now increased to 8.72 lakh.
Seeking the opposition’s support to pass the Bill, Rijiju said it aims to accomplish the unfulfilled tasks of the previous governments.
He also said that Waqf owns the largest chunk of properties in the country, leaving aside those owned by defence and railways.
Brushing aside the charges made by the opposition, Rijiju said, “The Bill is not against Muslims… We don’t want to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. The Waqf board is set up only to oversee, and not manage, Waqf properties.”
“The government has introduced the Bill with a good intention, and thus renamed it as ‘UMEED’. No one should have any problem with the name,” he added.
The government proposes to rename the Waqf Bill as Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Bill.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday (3) launched a scathing attack on the Waqf Board, accusing it of land encroachments and asserting that its “arbitrary claims” over public and historical sites would no longer be tolerated.
Speaking at a gathering in Prayagraj, Adityanath said, “The Waqf Board had been making baseless claims over lands across cities. Even during the preparations for the Kumbh Mela, they declared that the event’s land belonged to them. We had to ask – has the Waqf Board turned into a land mafia?”
He emphasised that under his government, such encroachments had been removed, and mafias had been driven out of Uttar Pradesh.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has called the Waqf (Amendment) Bill a weapon, aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights.
In a post on X, the Congress leader said, “This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future.”
He added, “The Congress party strongly opposes this legislation as it attacks the very idea of India and violates Article 25, the Right to Freedom of Religion.”
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday termed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a “brazen assault” on the Constitution, saying it was part of the BJP’s strategy to keep society in a state of “permanent polarisation”.
Hours after the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf amendment bill, Gandhi said the bill was “bulldozed” through in the lower house.
Addressing party MPs at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Samvidhan Sadan in Delhi, she also said that the One Nation, One Election Bill is another subversion of the Constitution and the party would strongly oppose it.
Taking strong exception to the passage of the Waqf Bill in the Lok Sabha, Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday (3) said his party would file a case in the Supreme Court against the Bill.
Stalin came to the Assembly wearing a black badge to protest against the passing of the Bill, said adopting the amendment at 2 am “at the behest of a few allies” despite the opposition of the majority parties in India, “is an attack on the structure of the Constitution.”
“This is an act that disturbs religious harmony. To highlight this, we are participating in today’s Assembly proceedings wearing black badges,” the chief minister told the House.
“I would like to inform you that a case will be filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against this controversial amendment. Tamil Nadu will fight against the Union government’s law which destroys the autonomy of the Waqf Board and threatens the minority Muslim population,” Stalin said amidst thumping of desk by the Treasury.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday (3) said the “concern” shown by the BJP and its allies during the discussion on the Waqf Amendment Bill would put Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah to shame.
His party opposed the BJP’s fraudulent stand on the bill and its ploy to take away land and give it to its industrialist friends, he said at a press conference in Mumbai, hours after the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha.
“You are eyeing Waqf land, but temple trusts, churches, gurudwaras too have land. You may be eyeing us (lands of Hindu temples) as well. The bill was brought just for land. We have opposed this sham,” he said.
Thackeray also said prime minister Narendra Modi should have told the country about the impending danger of US tariffs and the steps being taken to mitigate it. (PTI)
