Islamic cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Tauqeer Raza Khan on Wednesday said that organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal are terror outfits and called for a ban on these right-wing groups.
While speaking during a meeting held against the Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024, Raza said, “RSS is a terrorist organisation and should be banned if the government wants peace in the country. I say from the open stage that Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal are also terrorist organisations and should be banned,” reported news agency ANI.
All India Mohammadi Mission president Babar Ashraf called the meeting on Wednesday to oppose the Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024 and ‘Waqt Virasat Bachao Tehreek’.
In the meeting which was attended by several Shia, Sunni religious leaders, Raza appealed to come out on the streets in large numbers to protest against the amendment.
Row over Waqf amendment bill
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill aims to amend the law governing Waqf boards and aims to rename the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
A meeting of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was held on Friday which witnessed chaos with members vociferously opposing certain provisions of the draft legislation.
The panel, chaired by BJP member Jagadambika Pal, heard the views of All India Sunni Jamiyatul Ulama of Mumbai, Delhi-based Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (IMCR), Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board and Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqf during the day-long sitting lasting nearly eight hours.
Opposition members flagged concerns over deletion of Waqf by user provision in the Waqf Act. In Uttar Pradesh, the title of over one lakh properties, notified under Waqf by user provision, will be destabilised and made vulnerable to encroachment due to deletion of the said provision, opposition members argued.
They have also argued that by legally recognising the evidentiary rule of ‘Waqf by user’, historic sites that have been used continuously as Waqf would be protected.In the absence of such protection, such religious places would be susceptible to mala fide litigation.
According to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the committee has asked for “views/suggestions from the public in general and NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions in particular” considering the “wider implications” of the bill People have been asked to share their suggestions in writing in the next 15 days.
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