West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the Waqf Amendment Bill was against secularism and claimed that it would “snatch the rights of Muslims”, PTI reported.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular,” the Trinamool Congress chief said while addressing the state Assembly. “It is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims.”
Banerjee also said that the Trinamool Congress had been leading the movement against the bill from the very first day, The Indian Express reported. “We are saying this bill is anti-national because it is violating the right of religion and the right of equality,” she said. “We cannot support this.”
A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. In India, waqfs are governed under the Waqf Act. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property. The Act was last amended in 2013.
On August 8, the Waqf Amendment Bill was sent to a joint parliamentary committee for scrutiny following objections from Opposition parties after the draft legislation was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The panel had sought written suggestions from the public, experts, non-governmental organisations and institutions, among others, on the draft legislation. It received more than 1.2 crore email responses, both for and against the bill, according to reports.
The bill proposed to amend 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act. These amendments proposed to curb the authority of waqf boards, allow greater control by the government, allow non-Muslims to be members of the boards, restrict the donation of properties and change how waqf tribunals function.
The bill has been opposed by leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc, which includes the Trinamool Congress, and Muslim groups, who said it violated the right to freedom of religion and the freedom to manage religious affairs, among others.
On Thursday, Banerjee said that after the bill was sent to the parliamentary committee, the Centre “only gave advertisements like recruitment notices and asked for necessary suggestions”.
The chief minister said that the Centre should consult with state governments. “However, after seeing the advertisement, we sent some concrete proposals but that was not included,” she added.
Banerjee noted that every religion had a trust board. “In the waqf board, not only Muslims but many Hindus also donate land for development,” she said, adding that the Centre was “snatching that power as well”.
Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha adopted a resolution to extend the tenure of the parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing the Waqf Amendment Bill till the last day of the Budget Session next year.
This came a day after Opposition members of the panel walked out of a meeting and criticised its chairperson, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party MP Jagdambika Pal, for stating that the draft report on the bill was ready to be submitted by November 29.