MPs from the ruling BJP and its allies proposed 23 amendments to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, while the opposition proposed 44, all of which were rejected.
A joint parliamentary committee approved 14 revisions to the draft version of the Waqf Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year and seeks to make 44 contentious changes to how Muslim charitable properties are governed in the country.
The 14 changes include distinguishing between the two non-Muslim members required in the original legislative draft and nominated ex-officio members (Muslim or non-Muslim).
This means that waqf councils, whether at the state or national level, will have at least two, if not more, non-Muslim members.
Another significant reform is directing an officer designated by the relevant state to determine if a property is ‘waqf’. In the original text, the District Collector was responsible for making this decision.
A third change establishes that the law will not apply retroactively if the property in question is already registered. To this point, Congress leader and JPC member Imran Masood raised a red flag, pointing out that an estimated 90% of waqf properties are not registered.
Members of the ruling BJP, notably Lok Sabha MPs Nishikant Dubey, Tejasvi Surya, and Aparajita Sarangi, advocated these and eleven additional modifications.
Among the other 11 is a provision proposed by Mr Surya, which states that anyone desiring to donate land must “show or demonstrate that she/he is practicing Islam for at least five years” and admit “…there is no contrivance involved in the dedication of such property”.
Overall, MPs from the ruling party and its allies proposed 23 amendments to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Opposition MPs presented 44 proposals, but none were adopted.
However, the opposition’s plans were defeated by a 10:16 vote after committee members voted along party lines; the JPC includes 16 MPs from the BJP or affiliated parties and only 10 from the opposition.
According to NDTV, the final report will be given by January 31, and voting to affirm acceptance of the 14 amendments will take place on January 29.
The committee was originally asked to file the report by November 29, but the deadline was extended to February 13, the last day of the Budget Session.
Changes to Waqf regulations, sources have told NDTV, are intended to empower Muslim women who “suffered” under previous law. Critics, notably Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee and AIMIM chairman Asaduddin Owaisi (both JPC members), have described it as a “direct attack on religious freedom.”
Mr Owaisi and the DMK’s Kanimozhi, meantime, have contended that it violates several portions of the Constitution, including Article 15 (the right to profess one’s religion of choice) and Article 30 (the right of minority populations to create and govern their educational institutions).
The 1995 Wakf Act was enacted to govern ‘auqaf’ (assets donated and designated as Waqf) by a ‘wakif’ (the individual who dedicates the property). The statute was last updated in 2013.
