Kerala: “Waqf Board Amendment Bill should come into effect soon,” says BJP vice-president AP Abdullakkutti

Kochi Islands: BJP national vice-president AP Abdullakkutti welcomed the Union government’s decision to leave the Waqf Board Amendment Act to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. He hoped that MPs from ‘all parties’ would split hairs and take a good decision. Abdullakkutti hoped that the bill would be passed into law as soon as possible under the leadership of Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiran Rijiju.

BJP leader said that Waqf land is the property that a believer dedicates to God. In Dee-ni language it is Waqf Ala Ouvoola. This is the gist of the law that was passed in 1954. But in 1995, the Islamic appeasement policy spread like a hysteria. With the Waqf Act amendment, ‘Waqf by use’ became a practice. It made the problem worse. There have been incidents where lands that were used for the annual Eid Gah Namaz became Waqf properties. In twenty years, the Waqf land has doubled. Now the total land under the management of Waqf Board is 9.4 lakhs acres. The injustices done by Waqf Board would not be forgiven even by the Almighty. Waqf Board is the largest land owner in the country, next to Defence and Railways. In a short span of time, Waqf Board has become the owner of land worth Rs 1.2 lakhs crores.

The BJP vice-president cited an example: a farmer in Thiruchendur Tamil Nadu tried to sell an acre of his land. But the investigation revealed that the land belonged to the Waqf Board. The Sub Registrar’s revelation was shocking: the entire land in Thiruchendur village had been allotted to the Waqf. Similar disputes have taken place in several villages in Tamil Nadu. This includes the land belonging to the 1,500-year-old Siva temple. Historians say that the temple is older than the advent of Islam. Really surprising! Yet it is happening! Now the excessive powers given to the Waqf Board and its Tribunal by the Congress in 1995 and 2013 should be questioned.

Abdullakkutty, a former MP and former MLA, said that this particular issue was raised several times in parliamentary committees and parliamentary debates during the UPA regime. The demand for reforms in the Waqf Act was raised several times. But generally, no one was brave enough to take action. But one soul had the courage: Narendra Modiji. Now, the Waqf Board Amendment Bill has been brought; so has the abolition of Article 370, the abolition of Muthalaq and the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

BJP vice-president added that Indian Waqd Board was not protecting the interests of ordinary Muslims but of a few big land mafia operators. Waqf Board acquired acres of land in various states through dishonest operations. Some VIPs of the society grabbed these lands and took possession of them. They sold them and earned several crores. Abdullakkutti cited another example: CM Ibrahim, former Union Minister and prominent Muslim leader of Karnataka, who is very close to ET Mohammed Basheer MP, senior leader of Indian Union Muslim League and senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, grabbed acres of land in Bengalooru city and set up his private college there. A case in this regard has been pending in the court since 2012. But no one has the right to question the existing Waqf Board Tribunal. Such is the excessive power that Congress has given to Waqf Board. This is the crux of the new Waqf Amendment Law.

The BJP leader said that Congress is repeating the Muslim League’s claim that the Waqf Amendment Bill is anti-Muslim and unconstitutional. This is an outright lie. This is false propaganda, just like their past outrage against the CAA that it was meant to push Muslims to Pakistan. Corruption-free Haj policy was formulated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The objective of this Waqf Board Amendment is corruption-free Waqf Board. The Muslim community will surely realise this tomorrow or the day after.