NEW DELHI: Days after Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that the amended Waqf Bill will be tabled in Parliament session, Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said that the government is fully prepared to table the Bill in Parliament.
The government said it will discuss with different party leaders the timing for the Bill’s introduction. It is likely to be first introduced in the Lower House, probably on Wednesday. He said the timing of the bill’s introduction will be decided followingconsultations.
In a reference to the Opposition and Muslim bodies, Rijiju said some political parties and organizations are resorting to lies to mislead society and create tensions, while insisting that the Bill is in the interest of Muslims.
Asked if all the NDA parties support the Bill, he claimed that not only the ruling alliance but many MPs of the INDIA bloc have urged him to table the proposed law quickly.
Opposition strongly opposed the bill, slamming it as unconstitutional and against the interest of the Muslim community. Several leading Muslim organisations have been rallying support against the Bill, which was scrutinised by a Joint Committee of Parliament and approved with several amendments.
Muslims were urged to wear black armbands during Ramzan and Eid to express their opposition to the proposed law, he said, asserting that inciting them to hit the streets is not good for the country.
Rijiju said it is being alleged that the government will snatch Muslim properties like mosques and graveyards if the bill becomes a law, dismissing it as propaganda and noting that the Bill to regulate Waqf has been in existence since the British era.
He said a similar campaign was started against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and asked if a single Muslim has lost citizenship since the law came into existence.
He urged the Opposition to study the Bill in detail and then engage in discussions with the government. The Bill is in the interest of a majority of Muslims and only a few leaders who have exploited Waqf properties for personal gains are against it, he said.
Asserting that no other bill has passed through such an extensive consultation process, he accused its critics of resorting to falsehoods and stressed that minorities are safest in India and enjoy the “best rights of freedom”.
Opposition says bill against interest of Muslims
Opposition slammed the bill and said it is unconstitutional and against the interest of the Muslim community. Muslim organisations have been rallying support against the bill, which was scrutinised by a Joint Committee of Parliament and approved with several amendments.
