BNP has expressed its hope that the controversial Waqf Amendment Act passed by the Indian Lok Sabha will be reconsidered to “maintain regional communal harmony”.
At a press conference at the Chairperson's office in Gulshan on Sunday afternoon, the party's standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed expressed this view of the party.
He said: "According to organizations like the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, this law is against the basic spirit of the Islamic Waqf system. According to them, the Waqf Board should be managed by Muslims. They have expressed their opinion that it is a direct interference in the religious rights of Muslim citizens."
"India is a large democratic state and the Indian government will reconsider this law while upholding the guardianship role of the state in protecting the religious rights of citizens of all religions. We express this hope. We believe that this step will play a historic role in maintaining regional communal harmony."
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by a vote of 288-232. Having passed the lower house, it will now go to the Rajya Sabha. If passed there, it will go to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. If she signs it, it will become a law.
Highlighting the issue of Waqf, the ancient Islamic charity system for minority Muslims in India, Salahuddin said: "After analyzing various sections of the law, we have seen that this law has attempted to curtail the rights of minority Muslims in India and treat them discriminatorily. Muslims in India and various Muslim organizations have reacted that the 'Muslim Waqf (Amendment) Bill-2024' is unconstitutional and politically motivated."
He added: "There is ample scope for misuse of this law, which is against the religious traditions, rights, culture and interests of 14% of India's population, i.e. about 20 crore Muslims, which can create a huge disaster in the operation of Islamic religious institutions.
"Most of the nearly 1 million acres of property under the Waqf Boards in India are used for public welfare purposes like mosques, madrasas, cemeteries and orphanages. The inclusion of non-Muslim members in the management board in the new law has created controversy, as a result of which the constitutional rights of Muslim citizens may be violated."
He said: "BNP believes that it is not appropriate to take such a step at the state level as it may interfere with the religious rights of Muslims and lead to the destruction of communal harmony due to discriminatory behavior."
Highlighting the issue of including non-Muslim members in the Muslim Waqf Board, Salahuddin said: "In India, there is no inclusion of people of other religions in such national boards or in any legal organization. In that case, this law will be considered a discriminatory law. The changes in the new law could make the future of mosques and other Islamic religious institutions built on waqf land established centuries ago uncertain.”
He further said: “The jurisdiction given to non-Muslim members in the new law to manage and administer these properties is tantamount to direct interference in the religious rights of Muslim citizens.”
BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council member Ismail Zabihullah and Legal Affairs Secretary Barrister Kaiser Kamal were present at the press conference.