New Delhi, Aug 8: BJP leader and former Union minority affairs minister Smriti Irani on Thursday praised the proposed amendments to the Wakf Act as historic and said it was the demand of Muslims, especially women and the poor, for a long time.
The proposed changes protect the rights of women, if they are to inherit property being given to the Waqf, to ensure them justice, she said.
These changes also make it clear that such a property should be owned by a Muslim and the revenue officer concerned should certify the ownership, Irani added.
The existing law did not offer protection for widows and divorced women, and the amendments make provision for it, she said. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said a big step had also been taken to ensure justice to those who think their rights are being violated by allowing them to move courts against tribunal decisions, a provision which does not exist as of now.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday and referred to a joint parliamentary panel after a heated debate, with the government asserting the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques and the opposition calling it targeting of Muslims and an attack on the Constitution.
