New Delhi:
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which has been cleaned by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, will benefit women from the Muslim community and ensure transparency.
In a special conversation with NDTV on Friday, the former Law Minister insisted that a mosque, place of worship or ‘Kabrastan’ (Cemetery) is being touched.
“This issue is very simple and straightforward. Is the intention of ‘Waqif’, who has created Waqf for great objectives, is being properly executed by ‘Muttavali’, who is a manager, or not. A Waqf is not a religious body. It is a statutory body. Allah, Shanti, Shanti, said,” Mr. Prasad said, saying that the bill will help Muslim and community to be empowered by Muslims and communities. Will do it
Senior BJP leader said that the area near the Duck bungalow area in Patna – the city from which they are – they have a lot of Waqf land, but the five -star hotels and showrooms have come there. He also said that India has the highest number of Waqf properties in the world and asked how many hospitals, universities and training centers have been built there.
“Is the manager using the property the way the person has dedicated it or is he filling his pocket? It is a question. And a drama is being made on it … Let me tell you, let me tell you, I am going to appreciate the people of my kingdom and the whole country (this bill). People were disappointed to know that so much property is being misused,” he said.
Transparency
Mr. Prasad said that the bill will help in bringing transparency by making Waqf boards accountable.
“The whole thing is being made accountable, everything will be available online, digitization will be available, you can see which property is where Muttavali, what is being used, special property is being kept in the context of the intention of ‘Waqif (person dedicated to the property). Therefore, all these things are very transparent now,” He said.
Expect backlash?
On the question of whether the government is afraid of any kind of backlash from the Muslim community and the passage of the bill will have a possible impact on Nitish Kumar, which later this year beyond the Bihar Assembly Poll, Mr. Prasad said that the questions around Mr. Kumar have been asked with BJP in 1996.
Pointing to the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP leader said that a Muslim citizenship has not been taken.
“But the big issue is that we were two in 1984, only two (BJP had two seats) in the 1984 Lok Sabha). Where are we today? We are ruling the country in more than 21 states of the country. Nitish Kumar. YesOur very proud colleagues and friends have been the Chief Minister for 19 years, “he said.
The former Law Minister also stressed that India’s politics has gone through a ‘tectonic metamorphosis’.
“… while the nature of logic is the same. Secular, communal, appeasement. The world has changed. India has changed. And I would say that young people of the minority community and thinking community have also changed … and some people are trying to disappoint that change with the same argument as the 1990s and 1980s,” he said.
