In a huge win for the Centre, NDA allies Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) backed the Modi government on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday tabled the bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards. If passed, this bill will give the government the right to regulate Waqf properties.
The bill also proposes for the inclusion of Muslim women and non-Muslims in the Waqf Boards. Union Minister and senior JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh took the opposition to task and said that the bill was not against Muslims, adding that it was inclusive and did not promote religious divide.
"The law is being made to bring transparency. The Opposition is comparing it with temples. They are diverting from the main issue. KC Venugopal should explain how thousands of Sikhs were killed. Which taxi driver killed Indira Gandhi? Now, they are talking about minorities," the JD(U) leader said.
He further said that there is a difference between temple boards and institutions. While opposing the bill, KC Venugopal said that it is an attack on the Constitution and said that people of India will not buy this kind of divisive politics now.
"It is a direct attack on freedom of religion. Next you will go for Christians, then Jains. People of India will not buy this kind of divisive politics now," Venugopal said. The Alappuzha MP also linked the bill to the upcoming elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
"You do not understand that last time the people of India clearly taught you a lesson. This is an attack on the federal system," he said. The TDP, on the other hand, said that it was the government's responsibility to bring reforms and streamline the purpose.
The TDP also said that the government has no issues in sending the bill to the select committee. Not only the TDP and JD(U), another key NDA ally Shiv Sena backed the bill, saying that the bill talks about giving representation to Muslim women.
The Shiv Sena also alleged that the Opposition is against this bill to save its vote bank, while adding that the Waqf has around 85,000 cases pending. Moreover, speaking on the proposed bill, Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav said that the bill is being introduced as part of a political game.
He also said that no other religious body has people following other faiths as members of their boards and organisations.Yadav also accused BJP of pandering to some of its frustrated supporters through this bill.
"The bill is being introduced as part of a larger political game. Speaker sir, I heard in the lobby that some of your rights are also going to be taken away and we will have to fight for you.. I oppose this bill," he said in the Lok Sabha.
Replying to Akhilesh Yadav, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that he should stop talking in circles. "Akhilesh ji, stop talking in circles, you are not the saviour of the Speaker's rights." Baramati MP Supriya Sule urged the government to either roll back the bill completely or to send it to a standing committee. "Please do not push agendas without consultations," Sule said.