Waqf Bill absolutely constitutional and humane, says BJP's Manoj Tiwari

"The Waqf amendment is absolutely constitutional and humane in the true sense. It is in the best interest of 99% Muslims," the BJP MP told ANI.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on the early hours of Friday with a vote of 128 in favour and 95 against. Earlier in Lok Sabha the bill was passed with 288 votes in favour of it.

Tiwari alleged that there is a small section of the Muslim population that has "captured" the Waqf properties and is using it for themselves, claiming that this was the group that is protesting against the Bill.

"1 per cent of people are definitely troubled, those who want to capture the land of Waqf, those who are opposing the Waqf bill are the ones who are personally using the Waqf properties. They are looting the income of Waqf, so for them it is definitely a problem," Tiwari said.

Calling the reform to the Waqf Board a "gift" by PM Modi, Tiwari added, "For the people who are poor, (PM) Modi has given a gift to them. If you look carefully who are opposing the bill, then these are the same people who are personally using, or they have sold it by making false papers, so those people will definitely be troubled."

Talking about the disputed properties under the Waqf Board, Tiwari mentioned, "When the President assents to the bill, then it will be implemented. But the bill will help resolve disputed properties. So the people who want to give the income and benefits of Waqf to poor people, those people are not opposed to the bill."

Multiple Opposition Parties, including the Congress and AIMIM, have opposed the bill in the Supreme Court. Moreover, multiple Janata Dal (United) leaders have protested against the party's support for the bill, resigning from the party too.

Congress RS MP Syed Naseer Hussain had said earlier that the bill is unconstitutional and unfair.

"We believe that it is a constitutional problem and that this bill is unconstitutional and unfair. It is targeted legislation. The debate in both houses was very good. We disagreed with the government. Despite knowing that there would be many issues with the bill in the coming days, the government was adamant about passing it... The opposition fought unitedly," he said.

The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India.

The Bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing Waqf records.