[Watch] Opposition Misleading Muslims, Says Kiren Rijiju As He Introduces Waqf Bill in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Amid the opposition’s demand to take the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to a joint Parliamentary Standing Committee for scrutiny, Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju  introduced the bill in Lok Sabha on Thursday, stating that the opposition was misleading muslims.

“They (Opposition) are misleading Muslims…Till last night, Muslim delegations came to me…Many MPs have told me that the mafia has taken over Waqf boards. Some MPs have said that they personally support the bill but can’t say it due to their political parties…We have held multi-layered country-wide consultations on this bill…” the minister said in the lower house. He also insisted that there was no interference in the freedom of any religious body.

‘BJP is Bharatiya Zameen Party’

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had slammed the BJP over proposed amendments to 44 sections of the Waqf Act of 1995. He attacked the BJP by stating that the outfit should rename itself as ‘Bharatiya Zameen (land) Party’. He claimed that the bill was a pretext to profit from sale of Waqf-owned lands.

“All these amendments… are just an excuse. Selling land (owned by) Defence Ministry, Railways, and Nazul land (i.e., land inherited from the colonial British government) is the target. Waqf Board lands are just another link in the chain of ‘schemes for the benefit of BJP’…” Yadav wrote on X in Hindi.

The opposition leader asked why wasn’t BJP openly writing that the bill was ‘issued in interest of BJP?’ He accused the BJP of working like a real estate company. “It should change its name by adding ‘Zameen’ instead of ‘Janta’: Bhartiya Zameen Party,” he said.
Congress MPs KC Venugopal and Hibi Eden had submitted a notice in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to oppose the introduction of the bill.

What does the bill propose?

The major amendments proposed by the draft legislation include restructuring of Waqf boards, changing the composition of boards and ensuring verification of the land before the board announces it as the property of Waqf. It has also proposed amendments to

Section 9 and Section 14 to alter the composition and functioning of the Waqf Boards to ensure representation for women. While properties claimed by Waqf Boards will also undergo fresh verification to resolve disputes, Magistrates may be involved in monitoring its properties to prevent their misuse.

There are around 8.7 lakh properties under Waqf Boards across the country and the total land under these properties is around 9.4 lakh acres. In 2013, the UPA government bolstered the authority of these boards through amendments to the original Waqf Act, 1995, giving them extensive powers to acquire properties, which even could not be challenged in any court of law.