The OppositionThe proposed Bill has stirred a hornet’s nest with Opposition parties and Muslim bodies describing it as anti-constitutional and politically motivated. Recently, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, along with key Muslim organisations, called for the withdrawal of the Bill, flagging concerns over increased non-Muslim representation in Waqf Boards, altered trustee roles, and a shift in dispute resolution, potentially threatening the protection of waqf properties.Raising concerns over the Bill, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “In chapter 11 of Structure Committee, there’s a mention of waqf properties, in which six states have been mentioned where the government has taken over the waqf properties. In Delhi, the government has taken over 200 properties of waqf. The Modi government is trying to eliminate ‘waqf by user’,” he said.Waqf properties are private properties and not public properties, he said. “The government is saying to register all the properties through deeds covered under Waqf. If we do not bring the deeds, then registration will not be done. Therefore, the government will take over those properties. These were not given to us by the government but our Muslim brothers gave this for charity. How can you treat it like a public property?”On the issue of electing non-Muslim members to Waqf Boards, Owaisi said, “In UP, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act of 1983 states that only Hindu members are eligible to be part of the board. It also says, if a Hindu member is not eligible, then another Hindu will take their place.”Congress and other Opposition parties have accused the government of trying to wrest the assets from the Muslim communities. Speaking to this newspaper, prominent activist and founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Zakia Soman, said that though Waqf Boards need reforms, the government’s intent behind the proposed Bill is unclear. “It is more about taking away the autonomy of the Waqf Boards and transferring it to the district collector. What is the need for it? The very definition of waqf is that the donor gives it in the name of Allah for the community. So it’s a highly religious thing. Why alter the structure?” she says. Soman also says that there is nothing new in including women members in Waqf Boards as the provision already existed in the current Waqf Act.Soman also contests the government’s claims that the stakeholders have been consulted for the proposed Bill. “We were not consulted for the new Bill. You have to keep the community involved in all these efforts and bring out a transparent mechanism to serve the interests of the community,” she says.Speaking to this newspaper, M R Shamshad, senior advocate of the Supreme Court says that the proposed amendments violate the Constitution. “On the face of it, the proposed amendments are arbitrary and violative of Articles 25, 26, 29 and 14 of the Constitution. Right to manage and administer is proposed to be given to the Collectors and through the revenue authorities like the government does with Nazul lands and government acquired properties,” he says.Waqf properties, he added, will become more vulnerable than even Nazul properties considering the prejudice and narrative that have been created. India is seeing how collectors are behaving with the houses of Muslims.
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