Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, would take away some of the rights of Speaker Om Birla, prompting a sharp response from Union Minister Amit Shah.
The opposition leaders condemned and opposed the Waqf bill which was moved in the Parliament by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju.
Yadav, the MP from UP's Kannauj, addressed the House and said, "Yeh bill jo introduce ho raha hai woh bahut sochi samjhi rajneeti ke tehat ho raha hai (This bill has introduced as per a well-planned political strategy)."
He then turned to Birla and said, "Speaker sir, I heard in the lobby that some of your rights are also going to be taken away and we will have to fight for you....I oppose this bill."
Infuriated by Yadav's remarks, the Union Home Minister rose and said, "This is an insult of the Chair. The rights of the Speaker do not belong to the Opposition, but to the whole House."
"Akhilesh ji, is tarah ki golmol ki baat aap nahi kar skate..Aap nahi ho Speaker ke adhikar ke sanrakshak. (Akhilesh ji, you can't say such twisted things... You are not the protector of the Speaker's rights)," Amit Shah said.
Later, Speaker Om Birla told Yadav that he and all the members of the House must not make remarks on the Chair, saying that "This is my expectation, no personal remarks should be made on the Chair."
Further opposing the legislation, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "When there is a democratic process for election, why nominate people? No person from outside the community is part of other religious bodies. What is the point of including non-Muslims in Waqf bodies?"
He said that following the BJP's setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party has brought this bill to appease some of the hardline supporters.
Opposition leaders including Congress MP KC Venugopal, NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi strongly condemned and opposed the bill, questioning the timing of its introduction.
Dismissing opposition's claims, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that there is no interference in the freedom of any religious body with this bill.
"Forget about taking anyone’s rights, this bill has been brought to give rights to those who never got them," he added. He told the grand old party that the Waqf Act 1995 did not serve its purpose, adding that these amendments are being brought to achieve what the Congress could not.
Rijiju noted that even the Joint parliamentary committee recommended that the Waqf Act be looked into, saying that the Opposition is opposing for the sake of politics.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill aims at renaming the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards has proposed far-reaching changes in the present Act, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
According to its statement of objects and reasons, the bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law relating to the powers of the Board to decide if a property is Waqf property. It also provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards and ensures the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
