"Bhartiya Zameen Party...": Akhilesh Yadav's Swipe At BJP Over Waqf Bill
NDTV
The 1995 Wakf Act was passed to regulate 'auqaf' (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a 'wakif' (the person who dedicates the property).
Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP Thursday morning over proposed amendments to 44 sections of the Waqf Act of 1995, declaring the Bill a pretext to profit from sale of Waqf-owned lands and that the ruling outfit should rename itself 'Bharatiya Zameen (land) Party'. ‘वक़्फ़ बोर्ड' का ये सब संशोधन भी बस एक बहाना हैरक्षा, रेल, नज़ूल लैंड की तरह ज़मीन बेचना निशाना हैवक़्फ़ बोर्ड की ज़मीनें, डिफ़ेंस लैंड, रेल लैंड, नज़ूल लैंड के बाद ‘भाजपाइयों के लाभार्थ योजना' की शृंखला की एक और कड़ी मात्र हैं। भाजपा क्यों नहीं खुलकर लिख देती : ‘भाजपाई-हित… pic.twitter.com/VwK3YyWAG5
Mr Yadav's sarcastic swipe came hours before Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tables the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act in the Lok Sabha.
The proposed amendments will change 44 sections of the older legislation, including allowing non-Muslims and Muslim women to be named to central and state Waqf bodies. Among other major proposed changes are omission of Section 40 from the existing law, which allows the Board to classify properties; this means it can, under current rules, declare any of its properties as Waqf.
