‘Will lead to social instability’: AIMIM MP Owaisi warns govt over Waqf Bill | India News

NEW DELHI: AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday warned the government to refrain from tabling the Waqf amendment bill in the present form as it would lead to social instability in the country.
During his address in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi claimed that the bill has been rejected by the entire Muslim community and its implementation would take this country back to the ’80s and early ’90s.
“I am cautioning and warning this government – if you bring and make a Waqf law in the present form, which will be violation of Article 25, 26 and 14, it will lead to social instability in this country. It has been rejected by the entire Muslim community. No Waqf property will be left, nothing will be left,” Owaisi said.
“You want to make India ‘Viksit Bharat’, we want ‘Viksit Bharat’. You want to take this country back to the ’80s and early ’90s, it will be your responsibility. Because, as a proud Indian Muslim, I will not lose an inch of my Masjid…I will not lose an inch of my Dargah. I will not allow that. We will no more come and give a diplomatic talk over here. This is the House where I have to stand and speak honestly, that my community – we are proud Indians. It is my property, not given by anyone. You cannot snatch it away from me. Waqf is a form of worship for me,” he added.
Earlier, the joint parliamentary committee approved the draft Waqf Amendment Bill and incorporated 14 amendments proposed by the members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The JPC Chairperson had confirmed that the amendments were adopted through a majority vote, with 16 members supporting the changes and 10 opposing them.
Meanwhile, the opposition has accused the ruling party of using the Bill to undermine the autonomy of Waqf boards and infringe on the constitutional rights of the Muslim community.
Several opposition members of the panel submitted dissent notes to be incorporated in the report, which will be tabled in Parliament during the Budget session
These Opposition MPs included the Congress party’s Gaurav Gogoi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi besides the members who submitted joint dissent notes such as Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque of the TMC, A Raja and M M Abdulla of the DMK, and Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood of Congress.
The meeting between members of the JPC on the Waqf Amendment Bill and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla concluded and the final report on the bill was submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker on January 30.