'Waqf Board has been captured by mafia, Bill based on Sachar Report': Kiren Rijiju's point-by-point response to Opposition

Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who moved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill-2024 in the Lok Sabha, defended the Bill, saying it does not violate any Articles of the Constitution. He also said that the Waqf Board does not fall within the purview of Articles 25 and 26. 

"The Bill has no provision for interference in the religious body's freedom. The bill does not violate any Article of the Constitution."

The Minister also referred to the case of Bramhchari vs West Bengal. In this case, he said, the Supreme Court rules that the Waqf Board does not fall within the purview of Articles 25 and 26. 

The Bill does not snatch anyone's rights but empowers those who have not got their dues. He said the bill has been brought to empower those like children and women who have been suppressed.      

Rijiju said that in 1976, a waqf inquiry report was submitted. The report stated that all waqf board properties were controlled by Mutawallis (the manager or superintendent of the waqf) and that action should be taken to correct that.    

The other recommendation of the report said that a tribunal should be done to settle disputes. It also said that the audit and accounts of the waqf boards were not proper and that they should be fixed. 

Rijiju also referred to the Sachar Committee Report, which according to him stated that the Waqf Board should be broad-based. He said the report of the members of the board is not enough and the representations should be expanded.    

"Two women should be part of the Waqf's central council and state boards. The secretary of the central waqf council should be a joint-secretary level (central government) officer. In state waqf boards, a Class-1 officer should be appointed. These are Sachar Committee recommendations. This Bill is based on the recommendations of Sachar Committee Report."     

Rijiji said that the current Waqf Act does not allow court review of any order by the Waqf Tribunal. Suggesting unfair ways of capturing land, he said that there are cases where people sitting in the waqf board, by colluding with each other, transfer the dispute to the tribunal, and the tribunal either keeps the case pending or decides in Muslim favour. 

Countering the Opposition which said the bill was a violation of the Constitution, the Union Minister said that any act cannot be above the Constitution. Rijiju said the 1995 Waqf Act has provisions that have overriding effects on other laws of the country.  

The Union Minister said that till last night, Muslim delegations and MPs had told him that the mafia had taken over Waqf Boards. He claimed that some MPs have said that they personally support the bill but can't say it due to their political parties.

The Congress has opposed the Bill, saying it is violative of various provisions of the Constitution of India. 

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also said that this bill violates the principles of Articles 14, 15, and 25 of the Constitution. He claimed the bill is both discriminatory and arbitrary. "By bringing this bill, you (the govt) are doing the work of dividing the nation not uniting it. This bill is evidence of the fact that you are an enemy of the Muslims."