Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha JP Nadda on Thursday accused the Congress of making Muslim women second-grade citizens during its rule at the Centre.
Participating in a debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Upper House of Parliament, the BJP leader said the Narendra Modi government brought Muslim women into the mainstream by banning the practice of triple talaq.
“You made the Indian Muslim ladies second-grade citizens,” Mr Nadda said, referring to the Congress party and added, “It was only India where Muslim women were not brought into the mainstream.” While triple talaq was banned in Muslim countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Syria several years ago, the Congress-led UPA government did nothing for Muslim women while it was in power for a decade.
“We believe in real service, not lip service. Today crores of Muslim sisters have the right to live with dignity. Who did it? Isn’t the decision a historic one? It is a historic decision and none other than Prime Minister Modi has done it,” Mr Nadda said.
“I stand in support of the (Waqf) Bill as its sole purpose is to bring reforms in managing the Waqf properties,” Mr Nadda said emphasising that the current amendment in the Bill tries to fix accountability.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill in the early hours of Thursday, and the Rajya Sabha is currently discussing it.
Mr Nadda asserted that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is in the nation’s interest and the opposition is trying to derail and divert the issue.
Drawing a comparison between the Joint Parliamentary Committees constituted to suggest amendments, Mr Nadda said the current government formed a 31-member committee while the UPA had a 13-member JPC.
Similarly, he said, 284 stakeholders participated in the debate this time, while only 18 debated during the UPA’s dispensation. This shows that Modi is moving the country forward on the basis of democratic principles.
According to Mr Nadda, Muslim countries like Turkiye, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia among others made different laws to bring Waqf properties under state control so that they could be utilised for the welfare and development of the community.
He said digitisation and geo-mapping of Waqf properties were started years ago in some of these countries to stop its misuse.
“When these countries are digitising Waqf properties and making them accountable, then what is the problem if it is being done in India?” JP Nadda asked the Opposition.
He said the government has tried to ensure with the amendment that the Waqf properties should be in the right hands and used for the benefit of Muslims.
“From 1913 to 2013, Waqf had 18 lakh hectares of land and from 2013 to 2025, 21 lakh hectares of land were added to the Waqf properties,” Mr Nadda said, adding that the government has no intention to take over these properties but wants to stop their misuse.
He referred to several provisions of the Wakf (Amendment) Act, 2013 to highlight how it violates various constitutional provisions such as equality before the law, and the right to fair trial among others and said that the current amendment removes these anomalies.
“The Bill transfers the power from the Waqf to a collector to ascertain whether a particular piece of land should be given to Waqf or not. The basic aim of the Bill is to bring transparency and accountability and ensure both with strict regulation,” JP Nadda said.
Highlighting the misuse of the current Waqf Act, Mr Nadda said several government properties including lakes and temple lands were declared as Waqf properties.
“In 2006, there were 4.9 lakh Waqf properties and they have increased to 8.7 lakh, however, the total income, which was Rs 163 crore in 2013, has only increased to Rs 166 crore after 2013,” Mr Nadda said, adding that even the CAG report raised serious questions on the misuse of Waqf properties.
Before BJP Chief JP Nadda, Congress MP Sarfaraj Ahmed and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut spoke against the Bill and questioned the government’s intent.
Mr Ahmed said the government has been in power for 11 years but instead of talking about education and jobs for Muslims, it is amending the Waqf Act.
“Why is the government so worried about poor Muslims? Even Muhammad Ali Jinnah did not show so much concern for poor Muslims,” Raut said, accusing the NDA of diverting attention from US President Trump’s announcement of 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
