Union Minister Kiren Rijiju mounted a stiff defence of the Waqf Amendment Bill as he tabled it in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, saying the previous Congress government would have given Parliament and airport lands to the waqf had not the BJP come to power in 2014.
"The UPA government would have given the Parliament and airport lands to the waqf. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped Parliament takeover by waqf," Rijiju said amid sloganeering and protests by the opposition.
The bill, which seeks to amend the Waqf Act of 1995 that governs the management of properties donated by Muslims, has emerged as the latest flashpoint between the ruling BJP and the opposition.
Introducing the Waqf bill, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said new amendments were required as the changes made to the legislation by the previous Congress government gave it overriding effect over other statutes.
Rejecting the opposition's charge that the Waqf bill was unlawful, Rijiju said the legislation dates back to pre-Independence. "This bill is not new... After Independence, in 1954, the Waqf Act was incorporated. State waqf boards were included in this Act. Why did no one object to it then?" Rijiju said.
The Minorities Affairs Minister said the Congress government denotified 123 properties and handed them over to the Waqf Board. "If we had not introduced this amendment, even the Parliament building could have been claimed as Waqf property," he said.
Rijiju emphasised that the bill was in the interests of poor Muslims, children and women and would ensure accountability and transparency in managing properties under the Waqf board.
The minister clarified that the bill does not aim to "snatch" the land or mosques of the Muslim community as being claimed by the opposition, and it would not be applicable retrospectively.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said all aspects of the Waqf bill were discussed in the Joint Parliamentary Committee. "Congress ke zamane mein committee hoti thi jo thappa lagati thi. Our committee discusses, deliberates on the basis of discussions and makes changes," Shah said.
The government has alloted eight hours for debate and passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha, following which it would be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on April 3.
