AAP spokesperson slams BJP on Waqf; says PM not present at bill discussion

New Delhi [India], April 9 (ANI): Criticising the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said, "The Constitution gives us the right to practice our religion. They (BJP) just want BJP people to sit on the Waqf Board and take over all Waqf properties. They will do the same thing with the properties of gurudwaras and temples later."
Kakkar also alleged that Prime Minister Modi "did not attend a single Parliament session during the bill discussion".
Meanwhile, JK Congress MLA Irfan Hafeez on Wednesday termed the Waqf Amendment Act a state interference in the religious affairs of the Muslim community. He added that the demand for a discussion on the act in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was justified.
Hafeez accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of destroying the secularist identity of India.
"The Waqf Amendment Act is an interference to our religious matters, and the members have expressed their concern about it... We will not tolerate their interference in our religious matters. They (Central government) have divided our beautiful state," Hafeez told ANI.
"The Constitution and rule of law is being violated. Secularism is being brazenly violated. Federalism is under threat... It is the need of the hour to restore our identity of unity in diversity," he added.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has witnessed uproar for three consecutive days over the demand for a discussion of the Waqf Amendment Act.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into force on April 8 (Tuesday). After a 12-hour discussion, the Upper House cleared the bill with 128 members voting in favour, whereas 95 members voted against the legislation.
The act aims to modify the Waqf Act, 1995 and the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013. The 1995 act and the 2013 amendment laid out rules to govern the Waqf properties in India; created special courts (called Waqf Tribunals) with powers similar to civil courts (Tribunal decisions cannot be challenged in civil courts); and prohibited the sale of Waqf properties.
The 2025 amendment establishes a selection process and fixed tenure for the Waqf Tribunal members. It asserts the inclusion of two non-Muslim members in both central and state Waqf boards. The mandatory annual contribution from Waqf institutions to Waqf Boards is reduced from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, "allowing more funds to be allocated for charitable purposes."
The opposition is hitting out at the implementation of the act, and several petitions, filed in the Supreme Court, have challenged the same. (ANI)