Is Indian Parliament Built On Waqf Land? Row Erupts After Controversial Remark By Assam MP

New Delhi: At a time when the Waqf bill is being examined by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal sparked a controversy after claiming that the Parliament building and its surrounding areas in Delhi were built on Waqf property.

The Dhubri MP from Assam had also claimed that the area around Vasant Vihar, which has over 50 diplomatic missions of foreign countries, extending to the Delhi airport were built on Waqf property.

“It is wrong to use Waqf land without permission. Their government will soon fall over this Waqf board issue,” Ajmal said, as quoted by India Today.

“We’ve been hearing about this (claim) for 15 years, but there was no need to investigate it back then. Now that the Waqf Bill has been introduced, we need to investigate it. There’s no need for a new bill, and we won’t accept it,” the MP told to Times Now in an interview.

Reacting to such a remark, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju urged all MPs to support the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

“Parliament and municipal buildings, airports, cities and villages need protection. India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. We must use them for the welfare of women, children and backward groups within the Muslim community,” Rijiju tweeted.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled by the Centre on July 28. However, it witnessed strong objections from the opposition parties.

The Bill aims to restrict the authority of Waqf boards to designate any property or area as “waqf property.”