Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
Opposition parties united against the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, accusing the government of trying to establish the agenda of the Sangh Parivar and dubbing the bill as an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution.
The Opposition also alleged that the bill was introduced to shore up the Bharatiya Janata Party’s diminishing vote bank, but that it would end up being its “Waterloo”.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, the first Opposition participant in the debate on the bill, alleged that it was an attack on the Constitution. “This bill is an attack on the basic structure of our Constitution, an attack on our federal structure, and has four primary objectives: to dilute the Constitution, to defame minority communities, to divide Indian society, and to disenfranchise minorities,” he said.
Gogoi refuted the allegations made by the previous speaker, Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, who accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance of denotifying 123 properties for waqf. “The claim that the 2013 UPA government did not act on this issue is false. Repeated allegations have been made.”
Gogoi maintained that the legislation was not adequately discussed with minority representatives and quipped, “I want to ask the government — was this bill drafted by the minority affairs ministry or some other department?” Objecting to clause 3 that says only those Muslims who are practising for five years can donate properties for waqf, Gogoi said, “Minorities are now being forced to prove their religious identity with certificates. Tomorrow, will people from other faiths also have to do this? This is against Article 26 of the Constitution,” he said.
Article 26 guarantees freedom to manage religious affairs.
Opposition leaders raised objections as soon as the bill was brought for discussion and passage, raising several technical points. Revolutionary Socialist Party’s MK Premachandran said that the joint parliamentary committee can’t suggest fresh clauses of the bill, while Congress leader KC Venugopal said the bill was brought to the notice of the MPs only around the afternoon, but the time for submitting amendments to the bill was till 3:30 pm. “How can the members move amendments? You are actually bulldozing the legislation,” he said.
Trinamool’s Saugata Ray wanted the bill to be re-committed to elicit further opinion. Party MP Kalyan Banerjee said the bill breaches the Muslims’ right to perform their religious duties.
Gogoi recalled how the Muslim community fought for India’s independence, sacrificed alongside revolutionary leader Mangal Pandey, and supported the Quit India Movement. “You want to stain the name of the community that supported the Dandi March on April 6, 1930? You wish to malign the community that opposed the British policy of divide and rule in 1926?” he asked.
Venugopal said that targeting religious freedom will have consequences. He hit back at BJP leader Anurag Thakur for trying to level corruption allegations against Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and accused Thakur of casteism against the Dalit leader.
Today, you are quoting CBCI (top Catholic body). But you know how Vishwa Hindu Parishad was formed against a Papal visit. 753 churches (were_ attacked during your period, including churches in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur. Today, you are targeting Muslims; yesterday (you) abolished the (Lok Sabha) quota of Anglo Indians. Tomorrow, you will target Christians, day after tomorrow, it will be Sikhs and Jains. You want to establish the Sangh Parivar agenda. You are trying to divide the country for political benefits,” Venugopal said.
The leaders also targeted a provision of the bill that allows for non-Muslims to serve on waqf boards, although home minister Amit Shah later clarified that such appointees would perform administrative and not religious functions.
Venugopal cited the Vaishno Devi temple act, and said, “It says J&K LG will be chairman, and if he is not a Hindu, he should nominate someone. I support this. But why make an exception with Waqf Board? In Kerala, members have to be elected for Devaswom board by Hindu MLAs. No Muslims or Christians have voting power. This bill is a direct attack on the Constitution.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Waqf amendments were aimed at polarisation and will send a wrong message to the world, denting the country’s secular image. He also alleged that the bill was brought to divert attention from China’s land capture.
“Bringing waqf bill is the BJP’s political game, it is a new form of their communal politics. The BJP wants to appease those supporters who are now distancing themselves from the party because of its policies. As there has been a drop in the vote share, especially in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has been trying to manage votes, and this bill is being introduced for managing votes,” he said.
During the debate in the bill, Yadav and Shah engaged in light banter. Yadav questioned why a big party like the BJP was unable to elect its national president. “The BJP claims to be the largest party in India, but it still has not decided on its leader,” he said.
In response, Shah said, “In some parties, only five members of a family have to choose the president, so it is easy and quick, but we have to elect following a process that involves crores of members, so it takes time.”
At another point, Yadav also asked Shah to say something about Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. “To which, Shah quipped that “He is also going to be repeated (in the next elections)”, triggering laughter all around.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s A Raja, who was also a member of the JPC that adopted the bill with key amendments, quipped that a party that didn’t have any Muslim MP in the Lok Sabha was talking about protecting the rights of the minorities.
“Today, it is a remarkable day for the Indian Parliament to decide our destiny — whether this secular country is going to travel on the path which was well written by the forefathers of the Constitution or a negative path decided by the communal forces in the country,” Raja said.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi pointed out that the 2013 legislation was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha with the help of the BJP. “They must clarify whether leaders such as LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj are wrong…” he said.
