New Delhi. Modi government is preparing to make more than 40 changes in the Waqf Board Act. This news came from sources on Sunday. Apart from Muslim organizations, religious leaders and leaders of this community are also opposing it. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesperson SQR Ilyas has said that the board will take every legal and democratic step to thwart any such move. Ilyas said that any kind of interference in the power of Waqf boards will not be tolerated. He urged the opposition as well as the NDA allies to not let the amendment in the Waqf Board Act be passed in the Parliament. Also, appealing to all Muslims and their religious organizations to unite, he called any such move of the Modi government an act of malice.
SQR Ilyas said that the Modi government wants to change the nature of Waqf properties through 40 amendments in the Waqf Board Act, so that it becomes easier to occupy them. Earlier on Sunday, many Muslim leaders and religious leaders including Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali and MP Asaduddin Owaisi had also opposed any attempt to change the Waqf Act. At the same time, government sources say that the Waqf Board has 800000 acres of land, but it brings only Rs 200 crore in revenue. There are 30 Waqf Boards in the country. According to government sources, common and poor Muslims, women, children of divorced Muslim women, Shia and Bohra communities have been demanding changes in the Waqf Board Act for a long time. The Sachar Committee had also said that there should be transparency in the Waqf Board and only Muslims can use the Waqf property.
Sources also say that there are only powerful people in Waqf boards. Women are also not getting a proper place in them. Whatever property the Waqf Board declares as its own, its owner cannot take it back. Governments and courts are also unable to do anything in this. Such a law does not exist even in Islamic countries. The first act related to Waqf was passed in 1954. It was amended for the second time in 1995 and then in 2013. It was only after the amendment of 2013 that Waqf boards got the right to acquire the land which they declare as their own. In such a situation, there is a dispute between Waqf boards and people on the issue of various lands. In Tamil Nadu, in 2023, the Waqf Board declared the land of the entire village as its own. Later the court put a stop to this.
