"Well Thought After Political Move": Akhilesh Yadav On Waqf Bill
Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju introduces a bill to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, and repeal the Mussalman Waqf Act 1923 today in the Lok Sabha. The opposition parties resisted the bill by calling it to deprive the Muslim community of their land, assets, and freedom to manage religious affairs given under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution.
The controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, aims to address the matters related to the powers of state Waqf Boards, registration and survey of Waqf properties, and removal of encroachments. It makes the mandatory registration of any Waqf property with the District Collector’s Office for evaluation.
Samajwadi Party national president, Akhilesh Yadav also opposed the bill and called it a well-thought-out political move. While addressing the speaker he said, “If the board already has a democratic process of selecting the members then why it is again getting changed…Why the members of other communities are being included in the Waqf board as the religious bodies are not generally represented by any other community members”.
Read also: BJP Allies TDP And LJP Demand Parliamentary Review Of Waqf Bill: Sources
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav speaks in Lok Sabha on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024
"Yeh bill jo introduce ho raha hai woh bahut sochi samjhi rajneeti ke tehat ho raha hai…Speaker sir, I heard in the lobby that some of your rights are also going to be taken away and we will… pic.twitter.com/6ooTKHfCkd
— sansadflix (@sansadflix) August 8, 2024
Commenting on the submission of property details to the District Collector, Akhilesh Yadav gave an example of a past incident that caused tension. Opposing the bill in the lower house, the SP leader said, “The BJP government is trying to bring the bill for some of its polarised and communal members”.
While speaking to the bill, the minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that it is not right to associate the bill with religion and associate it with the members of Parliament. Notably, the bill makes a provision to make a member of Parliament a member of the Waqf board. He further said that the opposition is misleading the Muslims and “Many MPs have told me that the mafia has taken over Waqf boards”.
Opposition is resisting the bill and Congress MP Hibi Eden has given a notice stating it as ‘unconstitutional’.
