The central government on Thursday introduced the Waqf Board Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. As soon as this bill was introduced in the House, the Waqf Board is once again in the news. This amendment bill is being opposed by calling it anti-Muslim. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has openly expressed his views against the amendments in the Waqf Board.
Owaisi said that the central government is constantly raising questions on the properties of the Waqf Board. The Waqf Board is being compared to the economies of small Gulf countries. India is a very big country, it is wrong to compare it with small Gulf countries. This amendment bill of the government violates the rules of Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. This bill violates the basic structure of the Constitution.
He said that the central government is saying that from now on Waqf will not be by user. This means that the person donating his property to the Waqf Board must remain a Muslim for five years. But this does not happen in Hindu society. There are three boards in Bihar Endowment, Hindu Endowment Board, Shwetambar Jain Endowment Board and Digambar Endowment Board. Who becomes their members? Can their members become Muslims? They cannot. Go to Punjab and Haryana, can a Muslim become a member of the Gurudwara Committee there? They cannot. There is no law regarding whom any citizen of India can give his property to. One can even gift it. Our Hindu brothers can give their entire property to one of their children through a will. The work that the government is doing is against Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.
The government wants to snatch the Waqf property
On the question of increase in Waqf property, Owaisi said that the government has been questioning from the beginning that the property of the Waqf Board has increased tremendously. People are giving property to the Waqf Board, there are proper documents for it. Work is being done as per rules and regulations. But the BJP government is troubled as to how the property of Waqf is increasing so much? The government does not want to save the property of the Waqf Board, it has no intention of doing so. This is what we want to prove. And it is proving to be true.
On the question that the Waqf Board can claim any property, Owaisi said that this does not happen, this is a misconception being spread. The cases of the Waqf Board are seen in the tribunal and appeals are also made against them in the High Court. You can go to the High Court against the judgment of the tribunal, there is no restriction in this. This can be done by filing a revision petition. In the revision petition, you have to show patent illegality. Modi ji is saying that now there will be a retired district judge and a retired government employee in the tribunal. But now it is being said that an appeal can be made in the High Court against the decision of the tribunal. But this used to happen earlier as well. These people are lying.
We are burnt by the milk, we drink buttermilk very cautiously
Owaisi said that in any case the Survey Commissioner is not of the Waqf Board but of the government, the government itself issues the gazette. Here the government is citing section 14 but it is the job of the CO to decide how to put to use the unused property of the Waqf Board. But with these amendments you have snatched that too. This false propaganda of the government needs to be understood.
He said that the Waqf Board is not staking its claim on the land of Taj Mahal. There is a mosque inside the Taj Mahal and the Sunni Waqf Board has raised this issue. The CO of the Sunni Waqf Board is Zufar Farooqui sahab. Who has appointed him? He is a government man. Let me tell you that with the permission of the Sunni Waqf Board, an agreement was made in 1965 in Mathura with the permission of Krishna Janmabhoomi and the Waqf Board, under which eight acres of land of the Waqf Board was given to our Hindu brothers. We have been burnt by milk, so we will drink buttermilk very cautiously.
Owaisi said that about the person in Tamil Nadu whose land is being talked about being occupied by the Waqf Board, let me tell you that the survey commissioner of that village’s land is from the state government, he conducted the survey and said that the land belongs to the Waqf Board. One year objection time was given to Muslims. There is no time limit for non-Muslims. The Tamil Nadu government issued a gazette notification. You can challenge this decision in the court, who is stopping you? I want to ask Kiran Rijiju about what he said in Parliament, did he see only 15 cases in the matter of eight lakh properties. In Hyderabad, people go to the High Court against the Waqf Board, in many cases the Waqf Board has faced legal defeat.
Why should there not be a Waqf Tribunal on the basis of religion?
Owaisi said that the Hindu Endowment Board has summer eviction power. There are many tribunals where this happens. This government is saying that the tribunal will have a retired judge and a government employee. I want to say that why should there not be a tribunal based on religion? Does the law not allow on the basis of religion? The tribunal has been running for so many years. The Supreme Court also accepts its existence. The court has also given a decision against the decisions of the Waqf Board. Its decisions have also been accepted. If the RSS has a problem then what do I have to do? It is constitutionally recognized, so it is running. Waqf land is private land, not government land. Muslims have bought it with their own money and given it to the Waqf. Muslims have not taken that land by taking possession from the government.
Central government should include Bilkis Bano in the Waqf Board
On the question of inclusion of women in the Waqf Board, Owaisi said that we have no objection to women at all. I say that Bilkis Bano and Zakia Jafri should be made members of the board. Were there no Muslim women in the board before? How many lies will this government tell?
Owaisi said that I am talking about constitutional reality. This government is saying that it will make a Waqf of the Aghakhanis. I want to tell through you that there was an orphanage for Aghakhani children in Mumbai, which an influential person bought for Rs 25 crore and built a luxurious building in its place. If the government is so concerned about the Aghakhanis, then why was that orphanage allowed to be demolished? Another important thing is that section 52 of the current law said that there was a provision for severe punishment for selling Waqf properties, whereas in the new amendment it has been changed to a simple punishment. Will the central government work like this?
This bill was brought in view of Maharashtra and Haryana elections
Owaisi said that the government’s agenda is linked to Hindutva ideology. This is not the NDA government but the BJP government. The government is still arrogant. There are elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, so the government is trying to send a message to its vote bank that we are putting a rein. You are saying that a Hindu cannot do Waqf but a Hindu can become a member. These people are enemies of Muslims and want to end the Waqf Board.
I will not betray the Muslim community
Owaisi said that whenever the date will be written, it will be said that Owaisi had given notice to the speaker under Rule 72 against the Waqf laws. We had exposed the government. I will fulfill my responsibilities. At least people will not say about me that I did not betray the Muslim community.
Let us tell you that on Wednesday, the Modi government introduced an amendment bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Waqf Board Act. There was an uproar in the Parliament over this bill. During this time, while the opposition created a lot of uproar, on the other hand, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju from the ruling party explained in detail why there was a need to bring this bill.
While appealing for support from the opposition, Rijiju had said that if you support this bill, you will get the blessings of crores of people. A few people have captured the entire Waqf Board. And this bill has been brought to correct the justice that the common Muslim people did not get. It will be recorded in history who supported this bill and who opposed it.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)