In Boost For NDA Unity, JD(U), TDP Support Waqf Amendment Bill

NEW DELHI: NDA allies JD(U) and TDP on Thursday backed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying it was aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Board and not an attempt to interfere with running of mosques. Speaking in the Lok Sabha as the government moved for introducing the Bill, Janata Dal (United) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' asserted that the bill was not anti-Muslim.

Defending the bill, he said, "Several members are making it sound as if the amendment in Waqf Board law is anti-Muslim. How is it anti-Muslim?" "Here example of Ayodhya is being given... Can you not differentiate between a temple and an institution? This is not an attempt to interfere with mosques. This law is for the institution, to make it transparent..." he claimed.

"How was the Waqf Board formed? It was through a law. Any institution established through law becomes autocratic. Government has the right to bring a law to ensure transparency," he said. Slamming the opposition parties, he said, "There is no communal divide, they are spreading rumours". Taking a jibe at the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he asked, "Who killed thousands of Sikhs".

"The Bill should come and transparency should be brought," he said. TDP MP GM Harish Balayogi said his party would not mind if the Bill is sent to a Parliamentary panel. "I appreciate the concern with which government has brought this bill.The purpose of the donors need to be protected. When the purpose and power get misused it is the responsibility of the government to bring reforms and introduce transparency in the system," he said.

"There is a requirement for the government to regulate and streamline the purpose.The Bill has been brought and we support it," he said. "We believe that the registration is going to help poor Muslims and women of the country, and bring transparency," the TDP MP said, adding his party would not mind if the Bill is sent to a panel of Parliament for further consultation.

"If wider consultations are required to remove misconception, wrong information being sent, and to educate the purpose of the bill, we have no problem sending it to the select committee," he said.

The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill also aims at renaming the act as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.