What is Waqf Amendment Bill and why is Opposition against it?
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill proposes significant changes to the Waqf Act, seeking improved efficiency and management of waqf properties.
The Parliament is bracing for a face-off between the Centre and the Opposition over the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The controversial bill, which has forced party leaders to issue whips to their MPs for being present in the Lower House of Parliament, includes some major changes to the Waqf Act, 1995. The bill will be discussed for eight hours in the Lok Sabha.
What is Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024?
The objective of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 is to redress the issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties. According to the ministry of minority affairs, the main purpose of the amendment bill is to improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India.
It aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards by introducing changes such as renaming the Act, updating the definitions of waqf, improving the registration process, and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records.
Waqf refers to properties dedicated exclusively to religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law. Any other use or sale of the property is prohibited. In India, which has the largest waqf holding in the world, the Wakf Boards currently control 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across the country, making it the third largest land owner in India, following the Armed Forces and the Indian Railways.
Among the major issues regarding Waqf Board in India are the lack of diversity in the constitution of the board, irrevocability of waqf properties, lack of judicial oversight, misuse of provisions among others.
Major features of Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024
The amendment bill seeks to change the name of the Waqf Act, 1995 to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995.
It also seeks to introduce representation of Muslim women and non-Muslim people in the Waqf boards. The bill also says that any government property identified as waqf will cease to be so. The bill removes the provision empowering the Waqf Board to inquire and determine if a property is waqf.
The bill also allows the central government to make rules regarding registration, publication of accounts of waqf, and publication of proceedings of waqf boards. The Centre can also order an audit of the accounts of waqfs by the CAG or a designated officer.
Why is Opposition against the bill?
Big names of the Opposition, including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, met on Tuesday to discuss strategy on opposing the bill set to be tabled in Lok Sabha today.
The opposition believes that the bill is “unconstitutional” and “divisive”.
Congress leader Khaleequr Rahman claimed that the Joint Parliamentary Committee neglected the recommendations of the Opposition. “The entire exercise is being done in a very unconstitutional manner. All the recommendations which were submitted by most of the JPC members of the opposition parties have not been considered and taken into account, and rather, the BJP is trying to bulldoze things and trying to pass the bill,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
A major concern about the amendment bill is that it undermines the authority of waqf boards by giving district collectors the authority to determine whether a disputed property constituteswaqf or not.
According to Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala, the Opposition will oppose the bill if it tries to "de-establish" a particular community, according to an ANI report.
