Amid the ongoing debate on the Waqf Bill in the parliament, the AITC MP from West Bengal, Kalyan Banerjee, said that the bill is a clear violation of the rights of the Muslims to perform and manage their religious affairs and therefore violates Article 26 and the basic structure of the constitution. He alleged that the bill is intended to introduce further classifications within waqf boards based on the sects.
Banerjee opposed the bill and said, “On behalf of AITC, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, I strongly oppose the bill in its entirety. The spirit of my speech is ‘Tu Hindu banega na Musalman banega. Insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega’…”.
Speaking on the bill, Banerjee said that the Waqf properties form the backbone of Muslim communities, and these endowments sustain mosques, madrassas, and and cemeteries, among others, while providing essential resources to marginalised sections of society, especially in an environment where minority communities often struggle for equitable access to public resources. He said that equality and and equitable access are not there in the case of Muslims, and that’s why the bill is being opposed.
He called the bill as an attempt to legalize the illegal encroachment of waqf land by the government bodies.
Banerjee said that if section 40 is deleted than the Waqf board will be teethless doll. Responding to the accusation, BJP said, “Mamata’s TMC wanted Waqf Boards to keep looting land!Section 40 let them unilaterally declare any property as Waqf—from ancient temples to govt land—without proof. The amendment shuts down this blatant land grab.No wonder TMC is rattled—they’ve been caught red-handed!”
Mamata’s TMC wanted Waqf Boards to keep looting land!
Section 40 let them unilaterally declare any property as Waqf—from ancient temples to govt land—without proof. The amendment shuts down this blatant land grab.
No wonder TMC is rattled—they’ve been caught red-handed! pic.twitter.com/AC8VJRwLnD
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) April 2, 2025
The bill was tabled by the Union Minority Affairs Minister, Kiren Rijiju, on Wednesday. It seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties, address complexities, ensure transparency, and introduce technology-driven management. Tabling the bill, which was examined and redrafted by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Rijiju said the legislation has nothing to do with religion but deals only with properties.
He claimed that the consultation process of the JPC was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India’s democratic history. The minister said more than 97.27 lakh petitions and memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats, and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its report.
