New Delhi, Aug 8: The Opposition on Thursday strongly protested the introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, with several INDIA bloc MPs saying it is an attack on the Constitution and aimed at targeting Muslims with an eye on upcoming assembly polls.
They also asked the government to withdraw the Bill or at least send it to a parliamentary panel for a wider scrutiny and consultation.
Later, the Bill was referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) after a heated debate, with the government asserting the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he will talk with leaders of all parties for constituting the joint parliamentary committee.
Soon after Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought leave to introduce the Bill, Congress MP K C Venugopal — who had submitted notice to oppose its introduction — accused the government of violating freedom of religion and attacking the federal system through it.
“This is a draconian law and a fundamental attack on the Constitution,” Venugopal said.
He said people taught the BJP a lesson for its divisive politics but it was continuing with the same, keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections in states such as Haryana and Maharashtra. “It is a direct attack on freedom of religion… Next you will go for Christians, then Jains, then Parsis…we are Hindu but we respect other religions,” he said.
The people of India will not buy this kind of divisive politics now, Venugopal asserted. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Bill was being introduced to appease a handful of BJP's hardcore supporters and was brought with politics in mind. “What is the point of including non-Muslims in Waqf boards when this is not done in other religious bodies?” Yadav asked.
“The truth is that the BJP has brought this bill to appease its hardcore supporters,” the Kannauj MP said. Samajawadi Party MP Mohibullah Nadvi said the bill was against freedom of religion. He said appointing non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and other such bodies was violative of the rights of Muslims. Opposing the Bill, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay said it was divisive, anti-constitutional and anti-federalism.
