New Delhi: NDA allies, including TDP, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas), came out in support of the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, Wednesday, even as they sought to flaunt their respective report cards on Muslim welfare.
Arguing that the bill is a tool to empower backward Muslims, including Pasmandas, women and the poor, all three BJP allies instead attacked the Opposition for being anti-Muslim given their criticism of the proposed legislation.
In a caustic attack, Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, said the Opposition has been seeking to falsely create the impression that the bill is anti-Muslim, and scare ordinary Muslims. Stating that they are not the judge of what is secular and what is anti-Muslim, Singh said the JD(U) and its leader, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, do not need a secularism certificate from them.
Meanwhile, extending support to the bill, TDP MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti, however, urged the government to consider providing flexibility to the states to determine the composition of waqf boards.
The bill seeks to amend The Waqf Act, 1995 to address issues in regulating and managing waqf properties. Waqf boards oversee 8.7 lakh properties across 36.8 lakh acres in India, valued at an estimated Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
The bill proposes removing Section 40 of the Waqf Act, which allows the boards to determine waqf property status.
The NDA allies, all with Muslim support bases in their states, have been walking a tightrope on the issue, as they have risked antagonizing the Muslim community given their support to the controversial bill, which has been touted as anti-Muslim by the Opposition.
Also Read: ‘How to get Muslims to become BJP members after Waqf Bill?’ Minority Morcha complains to Kiren Rijiju
‘Saved Parliament from being declared Waqf’
Referring to the provision in the Waqf Act, which allows the boards to determine whether a property is deemed as waqf or not, Singh quipped that Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju should be applauded for preventing even the Parliament building, the Supreme Court and Rashtrapti Bhawan from being declared waqf property.
Stating that the bill is for the welfare of Pasmanda Muslims, Singh said, “Pasmandas will stand with Modi in the coming days as they received justice under his government.” The Opposition, he said, keeps “harping about” a nationwide caste census. Why then do they not talk about Pasmandas among Muslims, Singh asked.
“Under whose rule did Bhagalpur riots take place?” Singh further said, referring to the riots of 1989. Arguing that nobody has done more for Muslims than Nitish Kumar in his nearly twenty years as chief minister, Singh said Kumar and JD(U) do not need the Opposition’s certificate of secularism.
It is only those who seek to exploit Muslim votes or those who are in illegal possession of waqf assets, who are opposing this bill, he alleged. Calling their criticism unfounded, Singh said that the bill is not anti-Muslim since waqf itself is not a Muslim religious organization. It is only a trust working for Muslim welfare, and thus, should be amended to ensure it does so.
‘Muslim welfare top priority’
Stating that there is nearly no upward mobility for Muslims in the country—only 4-5 percent Muslims have government jobs, and less than 3 percent have jobs in the private sector—Tennetti called the bill an opportunity for the economic and social welfare of Muslims.
The estimated value of waqf properties is over Rs 1.2 lakh crore, covering 36.8 lakh acres, he said. These have been largely unutilized due to administrative inefficiencies and mismanagement. The bill, he said, offers an opportunity to use them for the welfare of women, downtrodden and youth. While the TDP was one of the first to suggest that the bill be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), it has since been discussed at length and “key” amendments have been brought. For instance, the district magistrate/collector has been replaced by an officer of a higher rank to adjudicate disputes, he said.
Protection for Muslims, he added, has been a “top priority” for the TDP.
The TDP, however, recommended an amendment to the bill stating that state governments be given the flexibility to decide on the composition of waqf boards.
LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti, meanwhile, said there are religious, legal, administrative and social components to waqf property, but the Opposition is only focusing on the religious aspects to scare people into believing they would lose their dargahs and mosques if this bill becomes a law.
The Sachar Committee delved into the social and economic backwardness of Muslims, but the Opposition, Bharti argued, does not want to talk about it to keep their vote banks intact. Underscoring the LJP’s commitment to the Muslim community, Bharti said while staying in government, Chirag Paswan had suggested that the Bill should go to a JPC.
“Muslims do not just need Allah ki rehmat (the mercy of Allah), but also the support of the government,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Govt intent to ‘reform’ waqf is suspicious. Consult Muslims first
