Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 will soon be passed in Parliament. The bill aims to address issues related to the management, preservation, and potential misuse of Waqf properties.
“Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is committed to the management, preservation and misuse of Waqf properties. It would be passed in the Parliament in the coming days,” Shah stated during a press conference highlighting the Modi government’s first 100 days in its third term.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat has scheduled meetings of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the bill for September 18-20 in New Delhi. These sessions will include:
– Oral evidence from Ministry of Minority Affairs representatives
– Views from experts like Prof Faizan Mustafa and organisations such as the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaaz
– Suggestions from various Muslim councils and groups
The proposed amendment has garnered support from some Muslim social workers and Islamic scholars. Mufti Wajahat Qasmi, an Islamic scholar, addressed concerns about the bill’s intentions:
“We are standing with the government and we should not doubt the intentions of the government. The government is thinking for the needy and poor Muslims. With this bill, Waqf will flourish, Muslims will flourish and so will the country.”
Qasmi emphasised that the meeting aimed to dispel confusion created by certain political parties claiming the bill would lead to the seizure of Muslim-owned land.
