CHENNAI, April 2: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking withdrawal of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, saying it will harm the interest of Muslims.
Stalin said the Constitution grants every citizen the right to follow their respective religion and it is the duty of the elected governments to uphold and protect this right. However, the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995 have not taken into consideration the constitutional protection given to minorities and are “bound to severely harm the interest of Muslim community.”
The chief minister, who has already opposed the Waqf amendment bill, sought the prime minister’s personal intervention on this issue and underlined that the Tamil Nadu Assembly days ago passed a resolution to urge the Centre to withdraw the Bill.
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The provisions in the existing Waqf Act are time tested and they provide protection to the properties of the Waqf. The amendments proposed to the Waqf Act will weaken the powers and responsibilities of Waqf Boards in the management and protection of waqf properties.
The large-scale modifications proposed across wide range of sections in the existing Act will dilute the very spirit of the Act itself. For example, the proposed mandatory inclusion of two non-Muslim members in State Waqf Boards will undermine the religious autonomy of the Muslim community’s ability to manage its religious and charitable endowments independently. Removal of the ‘Waqf by user’ provision threatens the status of many historical Waqf properties.
The stipulation that the individuals who practiced Islam for at least five years only can donate properties to Waqf will prevent non-Muslims from donating properties to Waqf which will hinder the syncretic culture of the country. Since the existing Waqf Act, 1995 is adequate and has clear-cut provisions to safeguard the interest and properties of Waqfs, it is our view that there is no need for such far reaching amendments to the existing Waqf Act, 1995. Considering all such aspects, the Tamil Nadu Assembly on March 27, 2025 passed an unanimous resolution to urge the union government to completely withdraw the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. (PTI)
