All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national president and Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi stated that if the Centre’s Waqf Amendment Bill becomes law, all waqf properties belonging to Muslims will be taken over by the government. He alleged that the option of ‘Waqf by user’ would be abolished by the new amendment, leading to the government seizing madrasas, graveyards, and dargahs that lack proper documentation.

“Now, (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi will make the rules for the Waqf. The new rules say that if the Waqf board needs to take action against anyone, they will have to ask Narendra Modi,” Owaisi said in a video shared on his social media handles.

On August 8, after BJP allies TDP and LJP demanded parliamentary review of the Waqf Amendment Bill, the government sent the bill to the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to review the provisions.

The bill sought several changes that included the omission of certain sections that empower the Board to determine if a property is Waqf or not and renaming the Waft Act, 1995 to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.