Two Muslim organisations object to deletion of Waqf by user in draft bill

New Delhi: Two prominent Muslim organisations on Thursday strongly objected to the omission of 'Waqf by user' clause the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as they appeared before a parliamentary panel that is examining the Bill.

The representatives of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaaz (AIPMM) and All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) appeared before the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill that was presented in the Lok Sabha last month.

The AIPMM supported the Bill contending that it would ensure transparency and accountability and hoped that it would prove to be an important step towards eliminating corruption and opportunism by improving the management of Waqf properties.

"The AIPMM delegation said the nation should be run by the rule of law and not religious texts," a member of the parliamentary panel said.

The AIPMM told the Committee that the Bill did not mention Waqf by Users and wanted its inclusion in the drafted legislation.

They also demanded inclusion of the Pasmanda Muslims and women in committees to manage the Waqf properties.

The AIPMM delegation contended that at present the Waqf properties were not used for the welfare of the poor and the needy and alleged massive corruption in their administration and demanded an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of such properties.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) raised objections to the provisions in the Bill that seeks to grant the right to create a waqf to a person who is a practicing Muslim for five years.

The AIMPLB said such a provision was unconstitutional and beyond the competence of Parliament and would amount to "religious surveillance" of the community members.

DMK member A. Raja said the Bill was an attempt to set the clock back to 1954 and the current provisions seek to negate the changes made to the Waqf Act in 2013 and 1994.

The Committee meeting on Thursday also saw some heated moments as an opposition member from the Rajya Sabha made certain "hurtful comments" at BJP member Medha Kulkarni.

Parliament sources said Kulkarni demanded an apology from the opposition member which was tendered in the presence of Committee chairman Jagadambika Pal.

However, Kulkarni is learnt to have insisted on an apology during the meeting of the Committee and not at a personal level.

Legal expert Faizan Mustafa also appeared before the Committee and is learnt to have made certain remarks on 'one nation, one law' and 'common civil code', which was strongly objected to by the opposition members.

Mustafa, the Vice Chancellor of Chanakya National Law University-Patna, said the bill was contrary to several landmark judgments of the Supreme Court and could also disrupt the fine balance of federalism, which stands as a basic structure of the Constitution.

The Committee is also touring Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore from September 26.