Former PM Deve Gowda backs Waqf Bill, says it protects underprivileged Muslims

Bengaluru, April 3 (IANS) Veteran parliamentarian and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda spoke in the Rajya Sabha, strongly supporting the new Waqf Bill on Thursday. This bill protects poor Muslims from their own rich (well-off ones), he underlined.

He clarified that the Bill does not interfere with Muslim religious practices but strictly deals with revenue and administration matters.

"The new Waqf Bill does not interfere with Muslim religious practices. This is very important to remember," he asserted.

The bill, he explained, aims to regulate the administration of properties under Waqf Boards, which currently control 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India. These assets, estimated to be worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore, have been mismanaged due to vested interests.

"This bill protects poor Muslims from their own rich (well-off ones). In the interest of justice, the new bill has been aligned with the basic principles of our Constitution," Deve Gowda emphasised.

He reiterated that the government has a duty to protect the rights of all citizens, including Muslims.

"Muslim citizens are also equal citizens of this country. Their interests have to be protected by the government, and that is what the bill does," he said.

Lamenting the historical mismanagement of Waqf properties, he highlighted the violation of a fundamental principle: "Once a Waqf, always a Waqf."

He pointed out that properties donated in the name of Allah had been misused by powerful intermediaries, particularly in states like Karnataka.

"Surveys after surveys, incidents after incidents have told us this in the past decades," he noted.

Deve Gowda praised the bill for introducing transparency and ensuring that Waqf properties serve the community.

"The donor of the properties is regulated and protected, and the poor Muslim is protected because Waqf properties are basically meant to serve the community and the poor in the community," he said.

He dismissed claims that the bill was about religious control, reiterating that it is focused on revenue management.

"This bill ensures better coordination with local revenue authorities," he said, adding that in the past, individuals involved in Waqf management had made "absurd claims about what belongs to them." Addressing such claims legally, he insisted, required the new bill.

The former Prime Minister stressed that there could be no "legal islands" in the country and that everything must align with the Constitution.

"This bill creates judicial oversight, which was very necessary," he added.

Deve Gowda also recalled that the Sachar Committee report of 2006, submitted to the then UPA government, had recommended several measures to improve Waqf property management.

"This bill takes a lot of those recommendations into account. When such is the case, why should the opposition have any problem? They should welcome it. They should stand by the poor Muslim and support this bill," he urged.

Concluding his speech, he left no doubt about his stance. "I support this bill," Deve Gowda declared firmly.

--IANS

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