After clearance in the Lok Sabha, the Waqf bill was presented in the Rajya Sabha. Where 128 people voted in favour of the bill leading to its acceptance while 95 rejected it. It is also reported that all amendments moved by the opposition leaders were rejected by the House. In the lower house too the majority was narrow where 288 MPs were in support of the bill and 232 against it.
In the Rajya Sabha, the discussion went on for 17 hours, longer than Lok Sabha where it was discussed for 12 hours. In what is said to be a “rare occasion” by the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, the house was dispersed at 4 am and met at 11 am again.
Since the bill has been passed by the houses it will be sent to the President before it becomes law replacing the original act of 1995 that administers waqf properties. The minorities Affairs Minister Kiran Rajiju said in the Rajya Sabha that the bill has taken into consideration various amendments suggested by the stakeholders, but since the Waqf board is a statutory body it must be secular, and currently, the non-muslim members are restricted only to 4 out of 22. He further claimed that the opposition is creating fear in Muslims regarding the bill and its provisions.
“You (opposition) are pushing Muslims out of the mainstream.” The minister said.
He also criticised the 60-year-long rule of Congress and blamed them for the poor state of Muslims in India. Additionally, the current government under Modi is trying to uplift the people and correct the wrongs. The Waqf bill is a step towards achieving the same goal.
The new bill among other changes aims at strengthening the waqf tribunal, making the process of selection structured and an easy access to dispute redressal. It also has features of an audit of the earnings of the waqf institution.
While the bill has reached its final stage of enactment, the opposition has termed it a “Black Day for Democracy.” Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha says, “We kept our views on the bill in front of them. They have taken a negative stand and they are taking it forward.”He said to ANI.
