Centre vs Oppn: Contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill tabled in Lok Sabha

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday tabled the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 as proposed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passageThe Bill seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties introduce technologydriven management address complexities and ensure transparency Introducing the Bill Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in Indiarsquos democratic historyHe said over 9727 lakh petitions memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its reportldquoThe government is not going to interfere in any religious institution The changes made in the Waqf law by the then UPA government gave it an overriding effect over other statutes hence the new amendments were requiredrdquo Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest ldquoYou tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Billrdquo Rijiju told the OppositionThis Bill has nothing to do with religion but deals only with properties he added Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Bill was tabled after a long process of consultations carried out by the JPC He said the Bill was first introduced in August 2024 after which as sought by the House it was referred to the JPC which held long consultations on itKey BJP ally Janata Dal United delivered a fullthroated endorsement of the Bill and accused opposition parties of trying to set a narrative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is antiMuslimAttack on Constitution OppnCongress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the INDIA bloc will oppose the proposed changes to the Waqf law and called the Bill ldquoan attack on the basic structure of the Constitutionrdquo with an aim to dilute its provisions defame minorities disenfranchise them and divide the Indian societyldquoThis 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 minoritiesrdquo he alleged Political parties in Kashmir opposed the amendments saying it was an interference in religious matters and an attempt to disempower Muslims Opposition parties have slammed it as ldquounconstitutionalrdquo and against the interest of the Muslim communityldquoThis bill is designed to disempower Muslims I donrsquot have any hope with BJP as we have been seeing for the past 1011 years how Muslims are lynched and mosques demolished but the Hindu brethren should step forward because this is the nation of Gandhi it should run as per the constitutionrdquo said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his party would not support the amendments as ldquoonly one religion is being targetedrdquoSamajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Bill is aimed at polarisation and will send a wrong message to the world denting the countryrsquos secular image Participating in a debate on the Bill in the Lower House Yadav alleged that the Bill has been introduced to manage BJPrsquos ldquodiminishingrdquo vote bank and will prove to be a ldquowaterloordquo for the BJP as some members might be claiming to support the bill but inside they are not happy about the developmentldquoBJP wants the Muslim community to feel that their rights are being attacked and the party gets to indulge in polarisation politics because that is their agendardquo he allegedlsquoBlack lawrsquo says Muslim bodyMuslim bodies denounced the Bill and said the amended provisions in it will do more harm than good to Muslims The AIMPLB said it will challenge the Bill in court and take the fight against the ldquoblack lawrdquo that threatens the communityrsquos rights to the streets It will be detrimental rather than beneficial for Muslims a senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board AIMPLB official saidldquoThe AIMPLB and other Muslim organisations have conveyed their concerns over the Bill to the JPC but they were not consideredrdquo Maulana Khalid Rashi Farangi Mahali who is a senior executive member of the Board saidWhat is WaqfA Waqf is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law It typically involves donating a building plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assetsWhat is Central Waqf CouncilCentral Waqf Council is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs It was set up in 1964 as an advisory body to the Central government on matters concerning the working of the Waqf Boards The Council consists of a chairperson who is the Union Minister incharge of Waqf and such other members At present Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju is the exofficio Chairperson The Council has been empowered to advise the Central and state governments and state Waqf BoardsWhat is Waqf Amendment BillThe Bill seeks to modify the Mussalman Waqf Act 1923 and amend the Waqf Act 1995 According to the Bill trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf Only practising Muslims for at least five years can dedicate their property to Waqf Also women must receive their inheritance before Waqf declaration with special provisions for widows divorced women and orphans The Bill also proposes that an officer of the rank of collector will investigate government properties claimed as WaqfThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever