Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU has become the latest BJP allies to object to the government Waqf (Amendment) Bill – a stand that both Chirag Paswan’s LJP led by Ram Vilas and Andhra Pradesh’s TDP led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu also did. Unlike some of the Northern Indian states, Muslims constitute 18% of Bihar’s population, and the JDU is seeking changes in the proposed legislation to protect the community, which the state is preparing for assembly elections to be held next year.
At first, the JD(U) supported the Bill. Earlier this month, its MP Rajiv Ranjan, while participating in the Lok Sabha debate, said the amendments were essential to bring in the added transparency. However, internal dissension has emerged within the JD (U) after Nitish Kumar categorical refused to support Narendra Modi for Prime Ministership in the pre-election alliance. The Minority Welfare Minister of Bihar, Mohammad Zama Khan, has expressed some fears about some of the provisions of the Bill. At the same time, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary has also expressed some concern in regard to the effect of the Bill on Muslims.
Finally, on August 9, the Lok Sabha appointed a 21-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the discussed and debated Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The JPC is charged with the duty of scrutinizing the Bill, and it is supposed to present its report at the end of the first week Parliament resumes. The motion to form the JPC was moved by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and minority affairs, Kiren Rijiju.
Rijiju proposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on August 8 to bring changes to the existing Waqf Act of 1995 over the autonomy of the state Waqf boards, surveying of the Waqf properties and encounters with encroachment. Also, Rijiju presented the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, which was made to nullify the Mussalman Wakf Act of 1923. In this regard, the term ‘waqf’ can be explained as a Muslim religious trust – usually real estate – dedicated to the benefit of charity or other public interests.
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