Waqf Board

No land has been provided by the Central government to the Waqf Board since 2019, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry told Rajya Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to a question about the total area of land provided to the Waqf Board by the Central and state governments from 2019 till date, MoS Tokhan Sahu said land is a state subject and hence, no data of land provided by the state governments is available with the ministry. He, however, said as far as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is concerned, no land has been provided to the Waqf Board by the Government of India since 2019. In August, the government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and referred it to a joint parliamentary committee after a heated debate. The government asserted the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques while the opposition called it targeting of Muslims and an attack on the Constitution. Last week, Jagdambika Pal, the chairman of the joint parliamenta

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the BJP-led central government over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, accusing it of targeting Muslims and expressing doubts on its passage in Parliament. Touching upon the reduction of the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh and the ongoing unrest in the neighbouring country, she questioned the Centre's alleged inaction in the matter. The chief minister, during a debate in the West Bengal assembly on a resolution opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of "fostering divisiveness, neglecting Constitutional norms, and mishandling issues like Bangladesh's minorities, the NRC, UCC, and CAA". Banerjee alleged that the Centre had "bypassed" state governments over the matter and criticised the "lack of dialogue" on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Centre did not consult us on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, she claimed. Banerjee also questioned the timing and ..

The Andhra Pradesh government has dissolved the AP State Waqf Board to promote good governance, safeguard Waqf properties, and ensure the board operates efficiently, officials said. The state government revoked a government order (GO) issued on October 21, 2023, which had elected three members and nominated seven others to the 11-member Waqf Board. "In the interest of maintaining good governance, protecting Waqf properties, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the Waqf Board, the government hereby withdraws GO MS No. 47 (which constituted the board) with immediate effect," said K Harshavardhan, secretary to the government, in a Government Order, issued on Saturday. According to the GO, the Chief Executive Officer of the AP State Waqf Board informed the government that the board had been "non-functional for an extended period", and there were writ petitions "questioning the legality of the order" constituting the board. The southern state also considered the observations made by t

Varanasi's Udai Pratap College is in controversy with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board claiming that a mosque on the campus and the land in its vicinity is a Waqf property, a charge rejected by the college administration. A notice was sent to Udai Pratap College in 2018, claiming that the mosque on the campus and the land of the college were donated to the Waqf Board by the Nawab of Tonk. Therefore, the college campus is the property of the Waqf, said Principal DK Singh. "The notice came from Varanasi resident Wasim Ahmed Khan. At that time, the then secretary of the college had responded to the notice. In response to the notice, it was said that the mosque was built illegally, while the property of the college belongs to the trust, it can neither be bought nor sold," he added. Singh also said that the Waqf Board tried to construct a mosque later in 2022. The police stopped it after the college administration complained. The principal alleged that the mosque was stealing

The Lok Sabha on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill till the last day of the Budget session of Parliament next year. Committee Chairman and BJP leader Jagdambika Pal moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha, which approved it with a voice vote. The parliamentary panel's meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government. On Wednesday, the opposition members of the committee staged a walkout and slammed Pal for asserting that the panel's draft report was ready. Pal and the BJP members of the committee then reached out to opposition members and indicated their willingness to press for an extension of the committee's deadline of November 29 to submit its report to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha had constituted the committee on August 8 and asked to submit its report on the last day of t

Bill to amend the Waqf Act is unlikely to be taken up in the winter session of Parliament, with the joint committee set up to examine it set to seek an extension to present its report

Opposition members of the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill on Monday met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with a complaint against panel chairman Jagadambika Pal, accusing him of bulldozing the proceedings on the crucial matter. In a memorandum to the Speaker, the opposition members also sought an extension of the tenure of the Joint Committee of Parliament by a "reasonable time" to allow substantive deliberations on the expansive legislation. "We submitted to the Speaker that the due processes are not followed by the chairman. He is hurrying up, bulldozing the proceedings," DMK member A Raja told reporters after meeting the Speaker. Among the members who met the Speaker are DMK leaders Raja and M Abdulla, Congress members Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohammed Jawed and Imran Masood, Trinamool members Kalyan Banerjee and M Nadimul Haque, AAP member Sanjay Singh, SP member Mohibbullah and AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi. Raja said Pal was not following the due process of the Joint Committ

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Monday alleged that the Centre's Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was crafted to "usurp" the Waqf properties across the country. AIMPLB spokesperson S Q R Ilyas also accused the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf of not doing its job honestly. Boards' convention felt that Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 was cannily crafted to usurp the waqf properties spread throughout the country, Ilyas told reporters here. He was addressing a press conference regarding the 29th convention of the AIMPLB, which concluded on Sunday in Bengaluru. Ilyas said all the proposed 44 amendments and their sub-sections were designed to "destroy and manipulate" the status of the Waqf properties. He claimed that the JPC, which was formed to elicit suggestions of stakeholders, is giving time and attention to those with no locus standi on the issue and is behaving in a partisan way and violating rules and norms. We feel that the JPC is not doing its job ...

He also hit out at the opposition over the allegations on Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill

The Winter Session of Parliament 2024 starts today. It would include 19 sittings, spanning from November 25 to December 20

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to decide the strategy

According to the people protesting, the Munambam community is facing hardship due to the Waqf Act

Amid an ongoing controversy over the Waqf Board land issue, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders staged a protest against the state government on Saturday, demanding the removal of the term

Accusing the opposition BJP of using the Waqf issue as a "political weapon", Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday warned of strict action against any attempts to disturb peace in the state. His comments come as BJP plans to intensify its fight against the Congress government over the issue in the days ahead, as the party even constituted three teams, which will visit districts and meet those affected by Waqf notices. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too has blamed the BJP for trying to "create communal disturbance" on the issue. "They (BJP) are using it (Waqf issue) as a political weapon. It means, there may be efforts for communal flare ups and disturbing peace. It is our allegation that they might be using their yatra (tour) for it. How things will take shape in the future, we cannot speculate now," Parameshwara told reporters here. Asked whether the ruling Congress feared that BJP would attempt to create law and order situation and pave the way for President's ru

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said his party would expose the BJP on the Waqf issue as changes in revenue records favouring the Waqf Board were effected only during the Saffron party's regime. While the BJP is all set to mount pressure on the Congress government by holding a mega protest and a month long march on the Waqf issue, Shivakumar claimed that during its tenure, the BJP regime started changing the revenue records of rights, tenancy and crops in favour of the Waqf Board and many properties also were transferred in the name of that board. The BJP's opposition on the matter was "foolishness" as the government had all the related documents to pin them down, the Deputy CM told reporters. We will expose them," he asserted and added that they came to know such aspects only later. Also, the issue did not get into public domain as everyone was busy with the recent elections. From November 25 to December 25, the BJP will be on protest mode against 'Waqf .

He also expressed happiness that intellectuals and positive-minded individuals from the community support the amendment

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan's bail in the Delhi Waqf matter has exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "false case", senior party leader Sanjay Singh said on Thursday. A Delhi court on Thursday ordered Khan's release in a money-laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board while refusing to take cognisance of a charge sheet filed against him. "Bail to Amanat. Once again, Modi's false case has been exposed. Modi ji tried all his tricks but could not eliminate Arvind Kejriwal and AAP," the party's Rajya Sabha MP Singh said in Hindi on X. Echoing his colleague, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said this was bound to happen. "All AAP leaders are out now. The truth cannot be defeated and we are going to contest the Delhi elections with full strength," he said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 2 arrested Khan as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others linked to him. He was taken into custody under provisions of the

Directing Khan be released on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh, Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue court said that there was sufficient evidence to proceed but no prosecution sanction obtained

The Kerala High Court has observed that section 52A of the Waqf Act, which was inserted by an amendment in 2013, does not say that those in occupation of waqf property prior to that can be prosecuted for alienating such land without the Waqf Board's sanction. The observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while quashing the criminal proceedings against two officials of the Department of Posts for allegedly alienating waqf property without the Waqf Board's permission. The criminal proceedings were initiated against the officials on a complaint by the Kerala State Waqf Board. Quashing the criminal proceedings pending before a magisterial court in Kozhikode, the High Court said the post office was functioning on the waqf property since 1999 and section 52A of the Act does not show that a person who is in occupation of such land even prior to the insertion of the provision were liable to be prosecuted. "Hence, I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution against the petitione