Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami backs Waqf (Amendment) Bill to "curb land-grabbing"

New Delhi [India], August 8 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami emphasized the importance of introducing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, pointing out that the Waqf Board was involved in numerous land-grabbing cases and the bill aims to curb such activities.
"There were a lot of controversial cases about land being grabbed by the Waqf Board. These kinds of activities will stop because of the bill... The only goal of the Opposition is to oppose. They oppose everything that the government does," Dhami said while speaking to ANI.
He mentioned that Uttarakhand's ongoing drive to reclaim illegally encroached land, which was paused due to the monsoon, will resume after the rainy season.
"In Uttarakhand, a drive to free illegally encroached land was going on. It was on hold due to monsoon. It will resume after the rainy season. 5000 acres of illegally encroached land have been freed till now," Dhami stated.
Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Khalid Rasheed said that a "wrong perspective" has been made regarding Waqf.
"The legal experts say that the amendments being brought will cause loss to the Waqf properties...For a particular religious body, it is important that the people of same religion govern it, but now non-muslims are bieng inducted. For some time now, a wrong perspective has been made regarding Waqf. The existing Waqe Act has more than enough laws which define the legal process to record a property under Waqf property," All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Khalid Rasheed said while speaking to ANI.
Meanwhile, Congress MP KC Venugopal said that the Waqf Board (Amendment) Bill is an attack on the federal system.
"We are Hindus but at the same time, we respect the faith of other religions. This bill is specialized for the Maharashtra, and Haryana elections. You do not understand that last time the people of India clearly taught you a lesson. This is an attack on the federal system..."

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to "effectively address" issues related to the powers of the State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of waqf properties and removal of encroachments, was introduced in Lok Sabha.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which amends the Waqf Act, 1995, was introduced by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Opposition parties including the Congress, DMK, NCP, Trinamool Congress and AIMIM strongly opposed the introduction of the bill, saying its provisions were against federalism and the constitutional provisions. While some members demanded the withdrawal of the bill, many suggested that should be sent to a standing committee. (ANI)