NEW DELHI — The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is facing a crucial Rajya Sabha test on Thursday, a day after sailing through the Lok Sabha following a marathon 12-hour debate. Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju tabled the Bill.
The Upper House witnessed repeated rounds of verbal squabbles as the treasury and opposition benches locked horns over multiple issues, including Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge’s Waqf landholding claims and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans raised after Congress MP’s election win in Karnataka.
The chaos also saw interventions from Home Minister Amit Shah, who accused the opposition of spreading misinformation over the Waqf Bill and also rebutted charges that the BJP was trying to polarise the electorate with amendments in the legislation.
The first face-off happened when Syed Naseer Hussain, Congress MP from Karnataka, accused the Centre of citing false claims on no legal recourse against the Waqf Tribunal order.
“They say that under the existing Act, people can’t move court if they are not satisfied with the decision of the Tribunal. This is completely false. If this is the case, how come there are so many pending cases in the High Court and Supreme Court?” said the Congress lawmaker.
HM Amit Shah stood to deflate Congress MP’s claims. He stated that there was no provision for a civil suit against the Waqf Tribunal order, and it itself remains ‘discriminatory’ because this dilutes the claimant’s demands and reinforces Waqf’s claims.
“In the 2013 Act, there was no provision for civil suit, which has a wider purview. The only provision was of writ petition in the High Court, which has a very limited purview,” HM Shah pointed out.
Naseer Hussain, who was granted multiple extensions by the Chair on Congress’ request, was unrelenting in attacking the Centre over what he called ‘flawed and forged’ references on 123 Waqf properties in the national capital.
“Are you trying to make us second-class citizens? They are creating confusion over 123 properties. It is the same property comprising mosques, dargahs and graveyards, as allotted to the Waqf by the Britishers. Confusion is being created about its ownership, but the fact is that the British rulers handed it over to the Waqf after constructing Lutyens’ Delhi.
He further accused the BJP of using the Waqf Bill as a means to drive a wedge between communities and to deepen polarisation.
The next face-off took place when BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal joined the Waqf debate and stated, “When Syed Nasser Husain was sworn in to the Rajya Sabha in Bengaluru, I was in Karnataka. His supporters chanted Pakistan Zindabad. When BJP workers protested against it, they were bundled up and put in jail.”
He also described the Waqf Bill as ‘revolutionary’ and stated that this was for the first time in Independent India, a reformist legislation was brought under the Narendra Modi government for improving the lives of the Muslim community.
He also impressed upon the House about percentage of Muslims, being the beneficiaries of Modi government’s welfare schemes, namely PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, free ration yojana and more.
However, Radha Mohan’s reference to ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ left the Congress party irked and agitated.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari protested against it and said that no member can accuse the other member without putting forth the necessary documents and proof, and also, he needs to get permission from the Chair.
The Home Minister stood up to counter Pramod Tiwari’s assertions and said that the BJP MP didn’t make any accusations against Naseer Hussain.
HM Shah said the BJP MP didn’t level any allegation but just stated that ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised when Naseer Hussain was sworn in.
Naseer Hussain also took objection to the claims and termed it completely false.
He said that nobody heard these slogans except a journalist, who made this claim. The Congress MP said he had told the police to take action if such an incident took place.
Earlier in the day, when the Waqf debate started, LoP Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the Centre and took strong objection to allegations against him, levelled by BJP MP Anurag Thakur in Lok Sabha a day ago.
Kharge stated that he was deeply hurt by the charges and said, “The BJP MP must prove his allegations. If he can, I will resign. But if he fails to do so, he should resign from the House.” — IANS
