Waqf Amendment Bill: What will change with Waqf Bill, know 10 big questions answers

What is the attitude of NDA allies?

The Waqf Amendment Bill was being speculated till yesterday about the attitude of JDU, TDP and LJP (R). But the three parties have issued a whip to their MPs asking them to support the bill. This means that the government’s major concern about the number force in the Lok Sabha has ended. After discussing this bill, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will give his reply at 8.30 pm and after this reply, the bill will be voted.

3. What is the demand of the opposition?

Opposition leaders are demanding that the bill be discussed for 12 hours in the Lok Sabha. And all the members should be given maximum time to give their opinion but the committee did not accept this demand and agreed to discuss for a total of 8 hours. Actually, the committee said that some members are asking for 4 to 5 hours for discussion. Therefore, after listening to both sides, it would be appropriate to give eight hours time for discussion.

4 All parties issued a whip.

After this decision, all political parties including BJP, JDU, TDP and Congress, Samajwadi Party have issued a whip to their MPs. This means that these parties have ordered all their MPs to be present in the Lok Sabha during the voting. And if an MP does not do so, his party can take action against him.

5. What is the dispute over the bill?

The central government says that the objective of the Waqf Amendment Bill is to improve the management and administration of Waqf properties in the country. The Waqf Act 1995 controls the management of assets donated by Muslims. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who is raising his voice on the Waqf Bill, has claimed that the proposed bill aims to curb the religious freedom of Muslims. Muslim organizations claim that the Collector government will come into existence after the new amendment is passed. And which property is Waqf and which is not, the decision of Waqf Tribunal will not be final. The collector’s decision regarding ownership will be final. Muslim organizations say that till now this Shakti was with the Waqf Tribunal. The proposed amendment to the Waqf Act is also against the religious freedom given by the Constitution. And this is a violation of Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. However, the government says that the opposition is spreading wrong information. If the bill is to be opposed then arguments should be submitted. Right now they are being misled. It should also be told what is unconstitutional in this. Spreading lies will not work.

6. When did the Amendment Bill come?

The bill was introduced in Parliament in August last year to amend the Waqf Bill. However, the bill was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) amid opposition from the opposition and various Muslim organizations. The debate continued for several weeks and there was a hot debate on it. JPC approved 14 amendments in the bill. The committee headed by Jagdambika Pal rejected 44 amendments proposed by opposition MPs. The bill was eventually approved by the Union Cabinet in February.

7. What is the opposition’s stand on the bill?

Opposition parties are constantly questioning the Waqf Amendment Bill and describing it as unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has appealed to BJP allies to vote against this bill. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that all opposition parties are united against the Waqf Amendment Bill. The government’s agenda behind this bill is divisive and they will work together in Parliament to defeat it.

8. What is the game of number in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?

The NDA has 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha. India Alliance has 235 MPs. If you add others, this number becomes 249. While the majority figure is 272. The opposition felt that if the TDP with 16 MPs and the JDU with 12 MPs opposed the Waqf Bill, the game could change. Because then the number of NDA will be reduced to 265 and the number of those opposing the bill will be 277. But both TDP or JDU, both are strongly with the government. But whether TDP or JDU, both are strongly with the government. This means that the way for the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha has been cleared.

• The NDA also has a majority in Rajya Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha has a total of 245 members. The NDA has 125 MPs. Of these, 98 MPs belong to BJP. 9 seats are vacant. In such a situation, the NDA needs the support of 118 MPs to pass the bill. This means that the NDA has a greater number in the Rajya Sabha. Opposition parties have 85 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress has only 27 MPs and 30 MPs. Which are not from any alliance.

9. What will happen next?

After passing in the Lok Sabha, the Waqf Amendment Bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 3 April and there will be voting on it after 8 hours of debate. If this bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha, it will be sent for the approval of the President and in the next one to four weeks the bill will be implemented for Waqf properties across the country.

10. If the bill is passed then what will be the changes?

• If this bill is passed, there will be major changes in the Waqf law. There will also be a change in the structure of the Waqf Board. Non-Muslims will not be appointed as members of the board. This makes it mandatory to register each Waqf property on the central database within six months of the implementation of the law. However, it gives the Waqf Tribunal the right to extend the deadline in some circumstances. In case of dispute, the state government official will have the right to take the decision whether the property is of Waqf or the government. Earlier, there was a lot of dispute over the proposal to make the District Collector a tax assessment authority in the bill. Muslim organizations argue that the official is likely to be given a decision in favor of the government.
• According to the amendment bill, now only the assets donated will be of Waqf. Along with two women, two people from other religions will also be able to join the Waqf Board. The person claiming the land will be able to appeal. The tribunal may appeal to the Revenue Court. The appeal can be filed in the Civil Court or the High Court. The decision of the tribunal may be challenged.
• Apart from this, any person can donate only the land that is registered in his name. If a person donates the land registered in the name of another. Then it will be considered illegal. Even Waqf will not be able to claim such assets. Under ‘Waqf-ul-Ulad’, women are also considered the successor of Waqf land. This means that the family who has donated the land of Waqf for ‘Waqf-ul-Ulad’, the income from its land will not only get the men of that family, but women will also participate in it. The full ‘details’ of the land given in Waqf will have to be uploaded on the online portal within 6 months. And in some cases this period can also be extended.
• However, the big change is that now every land given in Waqf will have a database on the online portal and the Waqf Board will not hide anything about these properties. Which person donated which land? Where did he get this land from? How much money does Waqf Board get from it? And how much salary Mutavalli, who takes care of that property, will be available on the online portal and this will bring transparency in Waqf properties and reduce the damage to Waqf. Another major change is that the government properties on which Waqf asserts their rights will not be considered as Waqf property from day one. If it is claimed that a government property is of Waqf, in such a situation the state government will conduct an inquiry with a nominated officer and that person will be above the post of Collector. If the claim of Waqf is found to be false in this report, the entire details of government property will be recorded in the revenue record and this government property will not be of Waqf. This rule will also apply to government properties that already claim Waqf and they are occupying them. Is there any other property or land Waqf or not? The state government has been given necessary powers to investigate it. The biggest change will be that Waqf will not be able to claim occupation of any land without any documents and survey.
• It will not be necessary for MPs and former judges appointed in the Waqf Board to be Muslim. The government says that this will also give a place in Waqf to backward and poor Muslims and Muslim women will also get a share in Waqf. The Waqf boards of the states should have two Muslim women and two non-Muslim members and one of the Shia, Sunni and backward Muslims should also be given a place. Bohra and Agakhani should also have one member each from communities, and these are communities whose number is very low and which are different from other Muslims because they neither offer Namaz five times a day nor go on Haj pilgrimage.
• The government has also added a provision to form separate Waqf Board for these two Muslim communities in this law. According to the current law, people will have the right to file an appeal in the Revenue Court, Civil Court and High Court within 90 days against the decision of the Waqf Tribunal, which is not in the current law. The central and state governments will have the right to audit Waqf accounts. This will prevent any kind of dishonesty and corruption. The Waqf Board cannot refuse to give any information to the government. And the Waqf Board cannot even say that if a land was being used for Islamic purpose 200-300 or 500 years ago, then that land is its. This new bill will now end this arbitrary arbitrary.
• In the year 1950, the Waqf Board had only 52 thousand acres in the entire country, which increased to 4 lakh acres in the year 2009. In the year 2014, it increased to 6 lakh acres and now in the year 2025, the Waqf Board has a total of 9 lakh 40 thousand acres in the country. After the Army and Railways, the largest land ownership in the country is with the Waqf Board.