Centre likely to table Waqf Bill tomorrow
Kiren Rijiju said he will be able to announce the date of the bill’s introduction in the Lok Sabha only after it has been discussed by the Business Advisory Committee
New Delhi: With only four more days left in the Budget Session of Parliament, there is intense speculation that the government will bring the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament on Wednesday.
Justifying the government’s move over the legislation, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said that the bill was “ready” and appealed to members to participate in the debate on the floor of the House. He claimed that there was “nothing unconstitutional” about the bill, and claimed that the Opposition was trying to mislead Muslims that their mosques, burial grounds and lands will be confiscated after the Waqf Amendment Bill is passed. He said the same rumours were spread during the anti-CAA agitation, but no Muslim had lost his citizenship even one year after its rules were implemented.
The minister said he will be able to announce the date of the bill’s introduction in the Lok Sabha only after it has been discussed by the Business Advisory Committee. “I will tell you the timetable tomorrow. We have to discuss it with the BAC and the Lok Sabha Speaker… We are looking at a suitable time. But till it is officially decided in Parliament, I can't discuss it outside Parliament,” he said.
The minister urged the Opposition to study the bill in detail and then engage in discussions with the government. “My appeal to all is that as we prepare to introduce the Waqf Amendment
Bill in Parliament, we must participate in the debate and discussion in the House. Outside Parliament, there have been a record number of consultations and deliberations. The JPC has gone on record for the most comprehensive consultation process and the highest representation ever in the history of democratic India... Now that the bill is ready, I would like to request all political parties to participate in it and put their views on the floor of Parliament. Please do not mislead”, said Mr Rijiju. He said that the JPC on Waqf had received a record 97 lakh memorandums, requests and suggestions. He said the government has taken the view from the outside and was now ready to hold a comprehensive discussion in Parliament and will reply to each and every charge being made by the Opposition parties.
“Some people are saying that this Waqf Amendment Bill is unconstitutional. The Waqf rules have been in existence since before Independence... All these provisions are already in existence. If the Waqf Act has been in existence since before Independence, then how can it be illegal? Innocent Muslims are being told and misled by saying that the government is going to snatch the properties and rights of Muslims. The false things being spread by some people are very harmful for our society and nation. I would like to request everyone to please identify those leaders who are lying. These are the people who had misguided the country during the CAA,” said Mr Rijiju.
“I am very proud to say that minorities are the safest in India and the minorities enjoy the best rights of freedom in India,” he added.
However, the Opposition parties hit out at the government, with Congress calling the Waqf (Amendment) Bill a direct attack on the Constitution and against its foundation. “Every Opposition party opposes it, but the question is -- what is the take of the ‘secular’ parties JD(U) and TDP? ... For the first time clause-by-clause discussion was done in the committee... If they implement it, we will oppose it democratically,” said Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said that the CPI(M) has taken a position against the Waqf Amendment Bill. “We believe that it is anti-constitutional and completely unfair to the minority community. People have their own opinion, but definitely, the way this is sought to be pushed in Parliament is not good for democracy in our country,” she added.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said there is a wide support for the Waqf Amendment Bill. “We are getting support from the entire country on the Waqf Amendment Bill. Kerala’s Catholic Church has supported us. Id-ul-Fitr is being celebrated peacefully. Some people were having black ribbon, (but) a majority of Muslims denied it. Mosques are for prayers… not the place for politics. I want to tell people not to get swayed by any rumour against the bill,” said Mr Hussain.
