Amid Waqf Debate In Parliament, MK Stalin's 'Withdraw Bill” Demand To PM Modi
New Delhi:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention to withdrawal of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was introduced in parliament today for debate and passing. All the non-NDA parties, including Mr Stalin’s DMK, have united to block the bill, which proposes changes to laws that decide how Muslim charitable properties are administered.
The Opposition has contended that the bill is unconstitutional and violates the fundamental right to practice religion, Article 14, which guarantees equality before law and Article 15, which bars discrimination on basis of religion. Sections of the Muslim community maintain the amendments are geared to help the government gain control of the Waqf properties.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly has already passed a resolution to urge the Centre to withdraw the bill.
In his letter today, Mr Stalin said the Constitution grants every citizen the right to follow their respective religion and it is the duty of the elected governments to uphold and protect this right.
But the proposed amendments in the bill have not taken that into consideration and the amended law is “bound to severely harm the interest of Muslim community,” he wrote.
He cited multiple points in his letter to cite how the bill can interfere with and undermine the religious autonomy of the Waqf boards as well as the Muslim community.
As examples, he cited the proposed mandatory inclusion of two non-Muslim members in waqf boards. The removal of the ‘Waqf by user’ provision threatens the status of many historical Waqf properties, he wrote.
The stipulation that the “individuals who practiced Islam for at least five years only can donate properties to Waqf will prevent non-Muslims from donating properties to Waqf which will hinder the syncretic culture of the country,” he added.
The government has contended that the law is being amended to empower women and children, who have been suffering under the existing rules. The bill requires that money received by the Waqf Board must be used for the welfare of widows, divorcees, and orphans in the manner suggested by the government.
In the Lok Sabha today, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said, “The government has nothing to do with religious sentiments… The role of Waqf boards is to supervise management of Waqf properties… this (the proposed law) is purely a provision for governance and supervision. It is simply a matter of property management”.
Mr Rijiju also claimed that previously “any land could be declared as Waqf property”.
“We have removed that provision. This provision was misused to such an extent tha the number of properties increased to lakhs. Temples and gurdwaras had been claimed as Waqf land despite no records of mosques in those areas, he said. “Surendereshwar Temple in Tamil Nadu was declared Waqf… in Karnataka, thousands of acres of land… in Haryana, a Sikh gurudwara was also declared Waqf,” he added.
