Waqf Board Amendment Bill passed by both the houses gone to President for consent !
The most controversial Waqf Amendment Bill which was tabled in Lok Sabha by the union minister Kirren Rijuju and subsequently passed has now also been passed in the Rajya Sabha conveniently with the 128 ruling BJP and its NDA allies MPs voting in favour and 95 opposition members voting against.
After being passed from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the bill will now be sent for the final consent of the president Draupadi Murmu which will surely be passed and shall become a law.
Before the voting, the discussion in the Rajya Sabha went till 2.30 AM finally the amendment going for vote with BJP led NDA successful in getting it passed.
Though the Waqf Amendment Bill is being outrightly criticized by the opposition parties especially the Muslim MPs, the BJP and its NDA allies say that the new amended bill will lead to transparency in the Waqf Board functioning and improve the various serious discrepancies and corrupt activities going on till date thus helping the poor Muslims.
According to the BJP which showed extra interest in bringing the bill in parliament says that the new bill after its gets the consent of the president will help in improvement in Waqf board’s activities , various drawbacks and discrepancies will be improved , the existing nepotism and corruption will go and adequate and proper management of the Waqf properties will come forth bringing complete transparency in it.
There is a concrete provision in the new bill to exercise strict regulation in the wrongful conduction of activities and misuse of Waqf properties till now said Rijjiju.
Kirren Rijuju the union minister for minority affairs who introduced the bill in Lok Sabha getting it passed from there and then from Rajya Sabha as well emphatically said that the new bill is in favour of the Muslims and the Muslim community especially the poor will be benefited by it. He categorically said that this bill will bring transparency and will not harm a single Muslim rather it will bring revolutionary improvement in the activities of the Waqf Board and will also protect its properties transparently.
The opposition parties have been opposing this bill tooth and nail with leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi criticising it strongly saying that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. The Congress party strongly opposes this legislation as it attacks the very idea of India and violates Article 25, the Right to Freedom of Religion said Rahul Gandhi.
The leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress chief, MP Malliarjun Kharge said that such an atmosphere has been created in the country regarding the Waqf Board Amendment Bill that this bill has been brought to harass the minorities. When this bill was passed in the Lok Sabha late at night, 288 votes were cast in its favour and 232 against it. Why did this happen? This means that there are many flaws in the bill. From this, we can guess that despite opposition from various parties, this bill was brought arbitrarily. This “mighty stick owns the buffalo” – will not be good for anyone! He further said that the Modi government cut the budget of the Minority Affairs Ministry year after year, spent less on it, and stopped many schemes including scholarships… And now these people talk big for minority women, children and Pasmanda community !
