Page 12 - Waqf Board

BJP raking up Waqf issue with eye on Assembly elections, bypolls: K'taka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that BJP was raking up the "Waqf issue" with an eye on the upcoming assembly by-polls in the state and elections in neighboring Maharashtra. Following allegations by a section of farmers in certain parts of the state that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, he reiterated that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn. "BJP is doing politics. Notices were issued during their (BJP) tenure too, what do they have to say about it? During BJP's tenure over 200 notices were given. One should not practice such dual politics," Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters here, the CM said, "I have already said that the notices will be withdrawn, where is the issue? In case the notices are issued they will be withdrawn and no one will be evicted, where is the issue?" "Whichever district it is...They (BJP) had also given notices in several districts. Why did they give? Why are they doing such politi

ED chargesheets AAP lawmaker Amanatullah Khan in alleged Delhi Waqf Board

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan over money laundering charges in a case of alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board. The 110-page supplementary chargesheet also named one Mariam Siddiqui, who was not arrested by the ED as an accused in the case. The court is likely to take it up for consideration on November 4. Khan was arrested by the ED on September 2 from his Okhla residence and is currently in judicial custody. Special judge Vishal Gogne on Tuesday posted his bail application for hearing on November 7.

Waqf (Amendment) Bill: Opposition MPs walk out of meet over witness list

Opposition MPs stage walkout from Waqf Bill panel, alleging witnesses lack relevance to the legislation; return briefly after protest

Waqf Bill panel meet: TMC MP smashes glass bottle during heated exchange

At the meeting, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass water bottle and threw it away during a heated exchange of words with Bharatiya Janata Party's Abhijit Gangopadhyay

JPC to hold meeting on Waqf Bill, aims for community-focused reforms

The committee met on Monday, inviting officials from the Ministry of Minority Affairs to provide oral evidence regarding the bill

Minority affairs ministry gives presentation on Waqf bill, oppn MPs protest

The Minorities Affairs Ministry on Monday made an extensive presentation at a parliamentary panel meeting to address the queries of MPs on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, with some opposition members arguing that the ministry's consultations over the years never called for a new law. A batch of petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the insertion of words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Constitution in 1976 also cast a shadow on the meeting as heated words were exchanged after opposition MPs questioned the panel's decision to seek depositions from some lawyers behind the plea, drawing reaction from BJP members. A BJP MP said all Indians are stakeholders in any proposed law, and the committee in its wisdom can call anyone it deems fit to offer any valuable suggestion. The Waqf law has impacted a large number of non-Muslims, he claimed. Advocates Ashwini Upadhyay, a BJP member, and Vishnu Shankar Jain are among those behind the SC pleas. They had last week appeared before the committe

Kerala govt adopts resolution demanding withdrawal of Wakf Amendment Bill

The Kerala Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution against the proposed amendment to the Wakf Act by the Centre. State Minister for Minority Welfare, Wakf and Hajj Pilgrimage, V Abdurahiman presented the resolution for the government, alleging that the proposed amendments by the union government are against the values and rights ensured in the country's Constitution and a gross violation of the federalist principles. The resolution alleged that the proposed bill, which is now under the consideration of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, violates the fundamental rights, right to belief, federalism, secularism, and democracy. The proposed bill also aimed at seizing the powers of the states in enacting laws related to the Wakf and violates the federal principles of the Indian Constitution, it said. "The move to omit democratically elected members from the Board and to include only nominated members and a chairman nominated by the nominated members would be completely again

Hindu outfits rally in Himachal demanding Waqf Board be abolished

Hundreds of people took out a rally in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur on Saturday under the banner of Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, demanding abolishing the Waqf Board and verifying the identification documents of migrants to the state. The organisation had given a call for a statewide protest over the issues. Led by Surjeet Singh, the district president of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti and Ashish Sharma, the district chief of Bajrang Dal, the procession passed was attended by several people who waved saffron flags and banners. Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the town to maintain law and order while shops owned by members of a minority religious community remained closed. Leaders of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti submitted a memorandum to the local administration demanding that the Waqf Board be abolished and identification documents of migrants be checked. Addressing the rally, the leaders of the organisation demanded that a proposal to check the documents of migra

Parl's joint committee on Waqf Bill will complete work on time: Rijiju

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju Wednesday expressed confidence the Parliament's joint committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill will submit its report within the stipulated time, even as he asserted the consultation process is the most extensive in the history of the country's parliamentary democracy. Rijiju said the committee would fulfil the mandate of submitting its report before the last day of the first week of Parliament's Winter Session. "I feel the way and at the speed at which Parliament's joint committee is functioning, they should be able to table the report of the joint parliamentary committee as stipulated in the rule in the terms of reference...the committee has to submit the report before the last day of the first week of the Winter Session. They will fulfil it," Rijiju told a press conference on the first 100 days of the ministry. The dates for the Winter Session have not been announced yet. Asked about BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raising concerns over the nearly 1.2

Parliament panel on Waqf Bill receives over 120 million responses

A parliamentary panel examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has received a staggering 1.2 crore email responses amid campaigns launched by rival groups to ratchet up support for their respective viewpoints regarding the draft law. Parliamentary sources said the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagadambika Pal, has also received 75,000 responses with documents to support the respective views, prompting the panel to seek additional staff from the Lok Sabha Secretariat. "We have deployed 15 additional personnel to go through the email responses and categorise and document those," one of the sources said. Radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has appealed to his supporters to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by sending responses to the parliamentary panel examining the draft law. The appeal from Naik has triggered a counter-reaction and several Hindu groups too have urged their supporters to write emails to the committee in support

PM not visiting conflict-hit Manipur, trying to stop Ukraine war: Owaisi

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit conflict-hit Manipur, but is attempting to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. Addressing a meeting at the AIMIM headquarters here, he wondered why Modi does not go to Manipur where violent incidents, including rapes against women, have been reported. "Our Modi ji. What did he do? Manipur has been burning for almost a year. (He) sent NSA to Putin to stop Ukraine war, to Zelensky. Modi ji, there is fire in the house. Stop it. There is fire in the house but no worry about the house. (But) war should not take place in Ukraine," he said. Taking exception to Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar's reported comments that Madrasas are training its students on using AK-47 rifles, Owaisi sought to know why the former has such hatred for Muslims. Muslims made sacrifices during the freedom movement and Madrasas had issued 'fatwa' (notice) to fight against the British, he said. "You have a dise

Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Bill to hold discussion across cities

These consultations aim to refine the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act

Waqf Ammendment Bill 2024 to be passed in Parliament in coming days: Shah

During the meeting on September 18, representatives from the Ministry of Minority Affairs will record oral evidence before the committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024

Joint Parliamentary Committee to meet on Waqf Amendment Bill on Sept 18-20

During the meeting on September 18, representatives from the Ministry of Minority Affairs will record oral evidence before the committee

Parl panel issues summons ministry officials over rules of 2013 Waqf law

A parliamentary committee has summoned officials of the Minority Affairs Ministry to explain reasons for the delay in completing the process for framing subordinate legislation under the 2013 Waqf law. The decision of the Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation to call the secretary and representatives of the ministry next week comes at a time when a Joint Committee of Parliament is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to amend the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013. The Rajya Sabha panel has also summoned officials of the Ministry of Defence on the reasons for delay in completing the process for framing of subordinate legislation under the Cantonment Act, 2006 on the same day. Both Houses of Parliament have their own committees on subordinate legislation which examine whether rules and by-laws related to a law are framed in time and are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The 2013 Act had given certain powers to Waqf Boards. The 2024 bill

Waqf committee meetings become site of contesting claims from govt bodies

The Joint Committee of Parliament meetings on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill have turned out to be a battleground for contesting claims, as several government bodies have accused Waqf boards in the country of laying ownership on properties belonging to them and drawn sharp counterclaims. Opposition members in the committee have claimed that a large number of Waqf properties have been in fact in "unauthorised" possession of government bodies, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, one of the more vocal and articulate opposition voices in the meetings, submitted a list of 172 Waqf properties in Delhi alone, which, he said, were in the unauthorised possession of the ASI, sources said. His submission to the committee's chairperson and BJP member Jagdambika Pal came following the country's premier archaeology body's assertion that over 120 of its protected monuments are claimed by different Waqf boards. The ASI also accused them of unauthorised ...

Waqf Bill necessary, ASI tells Joint Parliamentary Committee in meet

Opposition parties have been continuously opposing the Waqf Board Amendment Bill in JPC meetings

Why did ED arrest AAP leader Amanatullah Khan?

Amanatullah Khan, an AAP leader and MLA from Okhla, was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 2. Watch the video to know why.

Amanatullah produced before Delhi court by ED in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday produced AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan before a Delhi court in a money laundering case. The ED produced Khan before Special Judge Rakesh Syal, where it is likely to seek his custody in the case. He was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the agency conducted a search at his residence in the Okhla area of the national capital earlier today.

ED arrests AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in Delhi Waqf Board 'corruption' probe

In January this year, the agency had filed a charge sheet over alleged irregularities in the recruitment in Delhi Waqf Board under the chairmanship of Amanatullah Khan