Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday asserted that the Waqf Amendment Bill, slated to be introduced in the Lok Sabha today, was in the nation’s interest, contending that opposition to it stemmed from political motives rather than substantive reasoning.
Addressing mediapersons, Rijiju described the day as “historic” and reiterated that the legislation had the backing of the entire country, including “crores of Muslims.”
He remarked, “Those who are opposing it are doing so for political reasons. I will present the facts in the House. And I also want that if someone opposes, they should oppose on the basis of logic and we will also answer them.”
The Minister underscored that the Bill had been drafted after considerable deliberation and preparation.
“When we are bringing such a bill, we have come after a lot of thought and preparation...” he stated.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) President Jayant Chaudhary expressed support for the Bill, affirming, “We are with NDA. We've issued a whip.”
Union Minister George Kurian echoed similar sentiments, asserting that all communities were in favour of the amendment.
“All communities support this amendment Bill, and we can see that poor Muslims and the middle class also support this Bill. Only big landlords are opposing this Bill,” he said.
He further stated that the Bill’s transparency stemmed from its connection to land and property. “It is very transparent because it is connected to the land and property,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh Minister OP Rajbhar criticised opposition parties, accusing them of engaging in vote-bank politics. “Samajwadi Party, BSP, Congress supporters are doing vote politics...” he alleged.
He further pointed out that Waqf Board regulations had been amended thrice in the past to rectify deficiencies and ensure that all those under the purview of the Board reaped its benefits.
“The Waqf Board rules have been amended thrice before, the shortcomings in it are corrected from time to time, so now it is being corrected... I would like to ask those who are opposing to tell me the name of one poor person who has been given the benefit of Waqf Board land... The government wants that those who come under the Waqf Board Rules should get the benefit... These people are opposing only for votes,” he stated.
The Bill will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress have issued whips to their MPs to ensure their presence in the House.
With no signs of consensus emerging between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, the fate of the Bill is likely to be determined by the strength of numbers on the floor of the House.
Follow us
