Waqf Bill: Centre will overcome all hurdles in its path, says Purandeswari

BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari addressing the media in Vijayawada on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

VIJAYAWADA

BJP State president and Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari said the Congress party tried to obstruct the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill to achieve its political objectives by spreading misinformation, while the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) maintained double standards as part of its vote-bank politics.

In spite of the ruckus created by the opposition parties, the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre succeeded in having the Bill passed in both Houses of Parliament, Ms. Purandeswari told the media here on Saturday.

Proposing the Bill was itself a bold move, which no party had ever dared to make due to fear of losing votes of one section or the other, she observed.

“The President is yet to give her assent to the Bill, and in the meanwhile some MPs and other stakeholders challenged it in the Supreme Court. But the Central government will eventually overcome all the hurdles,” she said.

Ms. Purandeswari said there was absolutely no truth in Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s claim that the Waqf Bill was passed without adequate discussion, and questioned whether Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were even present in the House when the Bill was debated.

The Bill was passed at 3 a.m. in the Lok Sabha and 4 a.m. in the Rajya Sabha the following day, she pointed out.

It was only the NDA Government that had the audacity to conduct airstrikes in an enemy territory in the wake of the slaughter of Indian soldiers in Kashmir, abrogate Article 370, get the Ram Mandir built in Ayodhya, and abolish the triple talaq that had been a curse for Muslim women. Passage of the Waqf Bill was considered impossible, but the NDA achieved the feat under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said.

Ms. Purandeswari said Waqf Boards from 25 States presented their views to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, and the Bill was thoroughly debated in Parliament after certain changes were made to the draft on the basis of views submitted by all the stakeholders.

Ms. Purandeswari said there were Waqf properties in 9.50 lakh acres across the country, which was the third largest possession of land after the Indian Railways and the Defence Department.

But the income from Waqf was only ₹163 crore. As per the Rajinder Sachar Committee, if the Waqf properties were properly utilised, they could generate up to ₹16,000 crore of income annually, she said.