On Sunday, a rally was held in Kolkata by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minority Cell against the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, which the party says is a plot to capture Muslim land. TMC leaders like Kalyan Banerjee, a member of the parliament and also the joint parliamentary committee on the bill, also raised stiff opposition against the bill during an event held on Rani Rashmoni Road.
Speaking at a rally later, Banerjee alleged that the BJP-led Central government stayed a democratic approach by going ahead with the bill in violation of the Constitution. He also spoke of the BJP as a threat to India’s federal structure and accused the party of violating tenets of democracy. “The Preamble of the Constitution is the spirit of India, and the BJP government you are forming does not follow those principles,” Banerjee said.
The state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim and Murarai MLA Mosarraf Hossain were some of the notable leaders in the rally. He pointed out that the Waqf Amendment Bill was also part of a plot to seize Muslim-owned properties and to sow the seeds of discord in society for filthy lucre. “This meeting has shown that the BJP will not follow a policy of division,” he said.
The Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 was introduced in Loksabha on August 8, and aims to amend the Waqf Act 1995. The bill proposed here seeks to improve the governance structures of the Waqf Boards while improving the standards of accountability and transparency; it contains provisions for the representation of women in the Boards. The bill is with the JPC, led by Lok Sabha MP Jagdambika Pal. At this time, the Opposition members on the JPC have recently sought an enlargement of the time period of the committee to allow further deliberation on the bill, which featured in the Government’s business for the Winter Sitting of Parliament.
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