SP to oppose Centre’s move to amend law governing Waqf boards

Lucknow, Aug 5 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said his party will opposed the Centre’s move to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.

His remarks came after it emerged that the government is all set to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards to ensure more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies.

The amendment Bill will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation.

“We will be against it (Wakf act amendment bill),” Yadav told reporters when asked about the proposed amendment

“BJP’s only work is to divide Hindus and Muslims, snatch the rights of Muslim brothers and work on how to snatch the rights given to them in the Constitution,” he said after paying tributes to late MP and party leader Janeshwar Mishra on his birth anniversary here.

The SP chief charged that the Modi government had earlier snatched the rights of Anglo-Indians.

“Anglo-Indians used to have one seat in the Lok Sabha and one in the Vidhan Sabha. They had their own representation, but they got a fake census done and snatched the seats of Anglo-Indians,” he charged.

The SP chief also targeted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Property (Management and use of public purposes) Bill, 2024 presented by the state government.

“Look how intelligent our chief minister is… He found out that nuzul is an Urdu word. The officers kept explaining to him that nuzul means something else but he said no, nuzul means land of Muslims,” Yadav claimed.

“Think about it, this person was getting the whole of Prayagraj and Gorakhpur vacated only because of the Urdu word nuzul. He has some personal interest in Gorakhpur or some of his colleagues have some personal interest,” he charged.

The Bill presented by the state government was sent to the select committee in the Upper House (Legislative Council) and could not be passed after some BJP leaders opposed it.

Targeting Union Minister Anupriya Patel, who has been demanding reservation in the private sector, Yadav, without naming her, said, “It is being heard that a minister is shouting that reservation has ended…Those who are concerned about reservation, whether in Delhi or Lucknow, should immediately leave the BJP.”

Referring to the caste-wise census, he targeted the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and said, “There is a ‘stool kit’ leader. He is doing a lot of ‘kit-kit’ (talks). I think I will have to end the offer. It is being heard that the ‘stool kit’ ministers get orders, only then he does it. At least he should talk about caste-wise census and also talk about the reservation that is being abolished.”

Yadav was apparently referring to his recent monsoon offer to ruling party MLAs.

“Monsoon offer: Bring hundred, form government,” the former chief minister had said.

Yadav used the ‘stool’ prefix while talking about deputy CM Maurya as once he was seen sitting on a stool at a programme due to non-availability of a chair on the dais.