- Thursday, April 03, 2025
The minister alleged that ordinary Muslims were misled by vote-bank politics and Waqf properties were not used for the welfare of poor and downtrodden Muslims
By: India Weekly
MINORITY AFFAIRS MINISTER Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday (2) tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties and ensure transparency.
Tabling the Bill, which was examined and redrafted by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Rijiju said the legislation has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties.
“The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required,” Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest/
He accused the opposition of trying to “mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill.”
Rijiju also claimed the consultation process of the JPC was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India’s democratic history.
The minister said more than 97.27 lakh petitions and memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its report.
As many as 284 delegations submitted their views on the Bill besides the Waqf boards of 25 states and Union Territories, he said.
Legal luminaries, charitable organisations, academicians and religious leaders, among others, also submitted their opinions, Rijiju added.
“Waqf is controlling the third largest pool of properties in the country after railways and defence. The railways and defence properties belong to the nation, but Waqf properties are private in nature. It is unfair to compare them with the land banks of railways and armed forces,” he said.
The minister alleged that ordinary Muslims were misled for vote-bank politics for 70 years as no benefits were received by them from such a large pool of land bank.
“Why the Waqf properties are not used for the benefit and welfare of the ordinary, poor and downtrodden Muslims? These properties will have to be used for the welfare of the common Muslims,” Rijiju said.
As of 2004, a total of 4.9 lakh properties were held by the Waqf and their income was just ₹1.63 billion, he said.
After the 2013 amendment, the minister said, the income has gone up by just ₹30 million to ₹1.66 billion.
“We can’t accept such meagre income from such a huge bank of properties. The income should have been at least ₹120 billion. Waqf property has to be used for poor Muslims, and the Waqf Bill is needed to achieve this purpose,” he said.
Congress to oppose
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday (2) said the INDIA bloc will oppose the proposed changes to the Waqf law and called the bill an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution.
He said bill is an attempt dilute the provisions of the Constitution, defame minorities, disenfranchise them and divide the Indian society.
Initiating the debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Gogoi accused the government of misleading Parliament, referencing past discussions on the matter.
“This bill is an attack on the basic structure of our Constitution, an attack on our federal structure, and has four primary objectives: to dilute the Constitution, to defame minority communities, to divide Indian society, and to disenfranchise minorities,” he alleged.
“The claim that the 2013 UPA government did not act on this issue is false. Repeated allegations have been made,” Gogoi said, questioning the necessity of the amendments.
He further argued that the bill had not been adequately discussed with minority representatives.
“In 2023, four meetings of the Minority Commission were held, and yet, there was no mention of the need for a Waqf amendment bill. I ask the government – was this bill drafted by the Minority Affairs Ministry or some other department?”
The opposition MP also raised concerns over Clause 3, which defines individuals practising Islam.
“Minorities are now being forced to prove their religious identity with certificates. Tomorrow, will people from other faiths also have to do this? This is against Article 26 of the Constitution,” he said.
Gogoi also accused the government of spreading misinformation about the bill’s impact on women’s rights.
“There is an attempt to create the illusion that the existing law discriminates against women. In reality, the law already has provisions for the protection and empowerment of women, including widows,” he said.
He also claimed that the Joint Parliament Committee did not take any suggestions of the Opposition into consideration.
Bill to polarise people: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday (2) said the Waqf Amendment Bill is aimed at polarisation and will send a wrong message to the world denting the country’s secular image.
Participating in a debate on the bill in the Lower House, Yadav alleged that the bill has been introduced to manage BJP’s “diminishing” vote bank and will prove to be a “waterloo” for the BJP as some members might be claiming to support the bill but inside they are not happy about the development.
The Kannauj MP also claimed that the bill is being brought to divert attention from the “land capture” by China.
“Bringing Waqf Bill is the BJP’s political game, it is a new form of their communal politics. The BJP wants to appease those supporters who are now distancing themselves from the party because of its policies.
“As there has been a drop in the vote share, especially in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has been trying to manage votes and this bill is being introduced for managing votes,” he said.
“BJP wants the Muslim community to feel that their rights are being attacked and the party gets to indulge in politics of polarisation because that is their agenda,” he alleged.
AIMPLB to move court
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a major organisation representing Muslims in India, on Wednesday (2) said it will challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in court and take the fight against the “black law” that threatens the community’s rights to the streets.
Criticising the proposed legislation at a press conference, AIMPLB member Md Adeeb claimed it was an attempt to seize properties of the Muslim community.
“They have started this spectacle thinking they can take away our property. Can this be accepted? Do not think that we are defeated,” Adeeb said.
Stating that the Bill was opposed during deliberations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up to review it, Adeeb said, “It should not be assumed that we have lost the battle. We have just begun. This is a fight to save the country because the proposed law endangers the very fabric of India.”
He urged all conscientious citizens to resist the Bill and reaffirmed the AIMPLB’s commitment to oppose it both legally and through public demonstrations. (PTI)
