A joint committee of various organizations from Gujrat reportedly submitted a memorandum to Shri Jagdambika Pal, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (Waqt) opposing the Gujarat Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 on Thursday. The meeting was attended by various Member of Parliament including Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, MP Lok Sabha – Rampur, UP, Shri Kalyan Banerjee, MP Lok Sabha – Serampore, West Bengal, Shri Lavu Krishnadevaraya, MP Lok Sabha – Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh, A. Raja, MP Lok Sabha – Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, M.M. Abdullah, MP Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu,Imran Masood, MP Lok Sabha – Saharanpur, UP
The delegates of Gujrat included Yunus Patel, Sagirahmed Ansari, Vaasif Hussain, Ilyas Mansuri, Zubair Ghanch, Abdul Rashid Patel, Shoeb Ansar.
“The meeting aimed to highlight the impact that Gujarat and the wider community will face as a result of the Waqf Amendment Act, said Ansari on speaking to FoEJ Media
Sagirahmed Ansari told FoEJ Media that the delegates raised concerns regarding the move in the Waqf Amendment Act. The concerns say, “ the bill is nothing but an affront attempt to deprive Muslims of their fundamental rights of administering, managing and utilization of their codified Sharia based law, known as”Waqf. “
“The Waqfs and its legislations are to be considered in relation to the “religious endowments by other religions” the statement further reads.
“Hindus religious endownments, the properties are tied to the deity, therefore, in the case of waqfs, the ownership of the property is tied to Allah”, the concern further adds.
The other concerns include “ Since the waqf and its property being akin to religious endowments of Muslims, are protected under the constitution, to be professed and practice as per their religious faith and beliefs and to be administered, managed and utilize as per their religious faith and belief and are a symbol of cultural identity. Whereas, the amendment bill discriminates against muslims against their religion.”
There are 11 such Acts for Hindu Religious endowment and 3 such acts for Sikhs and Christians, Jain and Parsis also manage and administer their religious endowments. Therefore, firstly to misrepresent and allege that Muslims are treated specially, with appeasement and discriminatively by Waqf Act, 1955 and secondly, thereby to propose amendments in that and divest and deprive Muslims of their fundamental rights which are protected qua other religious endowments, both in gross unjust and unconstitutional and particularly violates of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26 and 29 of the constitution, the statement further highlights.
Fifth JPC Meeting on Waqf Bill Sparks Heated BJP-Opposition Debate
A special source told FoEJ Media that at the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Asaduddin Owaisi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh raised questions about Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statements regarding the bill.
Both Asaduddin Owaisi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh reportedly criticized Home Minister Amit Shah for making public statements on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
At The JPC meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill, a political uproar also erupted over the mention of Mughal Emperor Akbar’s wife.
According to sources, BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal questioned during the meeting, “If Emperor Akbar’s wife had declared the entire country as Waqf property during her time, would the whole country now be under Waqf?”
Congress MP Nasir Hussain, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the remark, calling it absurd and a baseless argument. The special source further revealed to FoEJ Media, that the meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill concluded with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) presenting its views at the end. The board submitted a 200-page report to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), outlining its opposition to various proposed amendments.
