New Delhi. Modi government is bringing a bill in the Parliament today to amend the controversial Waqf Act. Waqf Act Amendment Bill will be presented in Lok Sabha. Before this, a bill related to Waqf Act which was presented in Rajya Sabha will be withdrawn. Modi government is bringing this bill to make around 40 amendments in Waqf Act. Government will try to build consensus for amendment in Waqf Act. If consensus is not built, then Waqf Act Amendment Bill can be sent to the Parliament Committee.
Modi government is also going to change the name of Waqf Act through amendment bill. If the amendment bill is passed by the Parliament, then its new name will be ‘Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act’. Through the amendment bill in Waqf Act, Modi government is also proposing to form a separate Waqf Board for Bohra and Aagakhani communities. Apart from this, if the amendment bill is passed, apart from Muslim women, non-Muslims and other backward classes will also get representation in the Waqf Boards of the states. In the Waqf Act Amendment Bill, Modi government has made a provision to give representation to Shia, Sunni, Bohra and Aagakhani communities in Waqf Boards. Apart from this, Modi government has taken a big step towards ending the dispute in Waqf properties in the amendment bill. Under this, there is a provision in the bill to organize the registration of Waqf through central portal and database.
If the bill is passed by the Parliament, before registering anyone’s property as Waqf property, there will be a long process of following the revenue laws in addition to notice to the concerned people. Modi government has made this provision in the bill so that if the government has the power to register Waqf properties, then disputes can be avoided. If Waqf properties are registered, then it cannot be bought or sold in an illegal manner. This property can also be used for the welfare of poor Muslims. There are 30 Waqf boards in the country. They have 900000 acres of land. In this way, Waqf boards have the most land after the army and railways. Muslim leaders, religious leaders and organizations are opposing the Modi government’s attempt to amend the Waqf Act. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has threatened to take it to court calling it unconstitutional. In fact, there has been a demand for abolishing the Waqf Act for a long time. Right now Waqf boards have full power to occupy any property by claiming it as their own. Even the courts cannot do anything in this matter. In such a situation, there is a dispute between people and Wakf Boards over various properties. The Wakf Board has declared a village in Tamil Nadu as its own.