Basanagouda Patil; PM Modi.
Credit: DH, PTI Photos
The central government is set to table a bill in the Parliament that will amendment the Waqf Act, as per several media reports.
Karnataka BJP leader Basanagouda R Patil has highlighted a letter he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year in which he had urged the central government to repeal the "draconian and unconstitutional Waqf Act".
With his proposal now materialising, Patil said in a post on social media platform X, "The Centre has now decided to bring in a bill to seek amendments in the Wakf Act, which including a check on sweeping powers of Waqf boards to declared any land as its own property. The bill proposes to amend Section 19 and Section 14 of the Wakf Act to change the composition of Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards."
Patil further welcomed the move by the Modi government, and said that the Waqf Act had become "a tool to grab assets of innocent people". He also alleged that the Act had given "uncontrolled powers to Waqf boards and Waqf properties."
"Once this bill gets the approval of both houses, Waqf cannot tag any property as Waqf Asset," Patil further added.
Samajwadi Party MP Mahibullah Nadvi also shared his thoughts on the bill set to be tabled soon in the Parliament.
He said in an interview with news agency PTI, "Any bill is introduced by considering the law and rules of the respective religion. According to the Constitution, any religion, their sentiment should be taken into consideration. No Masjid or Madrasa randomly says that this property belongs to someone. Waqf commissioner is a gazetted officer and he studies all the documents properly and then he decides anything."