Opposition spreading misinformation over Waqf Bill: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Apr 3: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday accused the opposition of spreading misinformation over the Waqf Bill and also rebutted charges that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to polarise the electorate with amendments in the legislation.

Interjecting the opposition Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Syed Naseer Hussain from Karnataka, who accused the Centre of citing false claims on no legal recourse against the Waqf Tribunal order saying that the government had disregarded all the recommendations put forth by the Opposition in the Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The Home Minister said that there was no provision for a civil suit against the Waqf Tribunal order, and it remains ‘discriminatory’ because this dilutes the claimant’s demands and reinforces Waqf’s claims.

“In the 2013 Act, there was no provision for a civil suit, which has a wider purview. The only provision was of writ petition in the High Court, which has a very limited purview,” he said.

The Home Minister was reacting to the Congress lawmaker who said, “The government says that under the existing act, people can’t move court if they are not satisfied with the decision of the tribunal. This is completely false. If this is the case, how come there are so many pending cases in the High Court and Supreme Court?”

Hussain called ‘flawed and forged’ references on 123 Waqf properties in the national capital.

“Are you trying to make us second-class citizens? They are creating confusion over 123 properties. It is the same property comprising Masjids, Dargahs, and graveyards, as allotted to the Waqf by the Britishers. Confusion is being created about its ownership, but the fact is that the British rulers handed it over to the Waqf after constructing Lutyens’ Delhi,” he said.

Hussain also accused the BJP of using the Waqf Bill as a means to drive a wedge between communities and to deepen polarisation.