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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

NEW DELHI - The Lok Sabha early on Thursday passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to amend the law for administration of waqf properties in the country. A total of 288 members voted in favour of the bill and 232 voted against it. The Bill was passed after nearly 12 hours of heated debate in the House. The voting took place at around 0155 IST. 

Opposition parties termed the Bill unconstitutional, and members from opposition parties moved several amendments to the Bill. However, all the amendments were negated due to lack of strength in the House. 

Waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community.

During the discussion, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Bill was not against the Constitution, as the opposition parties claimed, and added that the government had accepted several recommendations made by the joint parliamentary committee in the Bill, and introduced an important amendment. "This will give 'umeed' (hope) that a new dawn is about to come. That is why the name of the new act is also UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act)," he said.

The minister also said the Muslim community was welcoming the bill with open arms. "Some people here are surely opposing the bill, but I want to invite them to my home so they can witness the Muslim delegations meeting me and welcoming the bill, it will change the way you think. You aren't aware of the level of acceptance of the bill among the Muslim community," he said.

The Bill was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha in August and subsequently, sent to a joint parliamentary committee for wider scrutiny after various concerns were raised by opposition parties. The committee submitted its report in February, making several recommendations. 

The government incorporated the suggestions made by the committee in the Bill and tabled it for discussion and passing in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The revised Bill states that "waqf by user" properties registered before the commencement of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 will retain their status unless disputed or designated as government property. The original version of the Bill had abolished the concept of 'waqf by user', which refers to a type of waqf where properties are recognised as religious or charitable endowments through the continuous use by the community, even without formal documentation.

The new Bill has retained the provisions that allow appointment of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council, state waqf boards, and waqf tribunals. It also added a provision to allow the waqf tribunal to extend six months' time for the registration of waqfs in the centralised portal. 

Meanwhile, opposition parties attacked the government for violating the basic structure of the Constitution and dividing the country on the basis of religion. 

Opening the debate for the opposition, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi accused Rijiju of making misleading statements, which earned him a reprimand from Speaker Om Birla. Gogoi pointed out that the minority affairs ministry did not mention this Bill in four meetings of its parliamentary committee in 2023, a year before the amendments were suddenly tabled. This talk of "reform" of waqf laws - as Rijiju had stressed in his speech - was a diversion to help the Bharatiya Janata Party dilute the election process and destroy communal harmony, Gogoi claimed.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav asserted that the Bill was brought to conceal the shortcomings of the Bharatiya Janata Party government. He said that whenever the BJP introduces a new Bill, it serves as a means to divert attention from its failures.

"Why don't we discuss demonetisation, joblessness, cleaning of the Ganga and other issues. I would like to ask the government what are the names of the 30 people who died and the 1,000 Hindus who are lost in Kumbh Mela," Yadav said.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, will bring about significant changes in the administration and management of waqf properties. It shrinks the powers of the Waqf Board and empowers the central government to make rules pertaining to asset management and administration. The Bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the Waqf Act, which empowers the board to decide if a property is a waqf property. It also seeks to streamline the registration of waqfs through a central portal and database.  End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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