Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. This comes a day after their passage in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, despite strong resistance from the Opposition.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Let's cut across live to Kiran Rajeev Chowdhury.
01:00that when we came here with the amendment bill and made the JPC,
01:05before that, the Ministry of Finance of India
01:10through a wide range of stakeholders from all over the country,
01:15from the state governments,
01:18from the minority commissions in the state,
01:22from the work boards,
01:24and from the officers there,
01:26and from the intellectual communities,
01:29from the religious organizations,
01:34after talking to many people,
01:37we prepared this bill and presented it in the Parliament.
01:42After that, the Joint Committee was formed,
01:46and the work done by the members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha,
01:53I would like to officially state that
01:58the work done by the JPC,
02:01more than that,
02:03all the JPCs that have been made in the past,
02:05such a long and extensive work has never been done before.
02:09A total of 284 organizations, stakeholders,
02:17people from different areas,
02:20came to the JPC and presented their views.
02:26And more than 97 lakhs,
02:30if we add up the small numbers,
02:32more than 1 crore people from our country have presented their views.
02:38And they have given their views to the JPC and the Ministry.
02:44So, before discussing any bill in the Parliament,
02:49getting more than 1 crore suggestions,
02:52is also historic in itself.
02:54We also discussed this with the Rajya Sabha,
02:59and along with that,
03:01yesterday in the Lok Sabha,
03:04there was a long discussion,
03:07and late at night,
03:09i.e. in the morning,
03:10after passing the bill,
03:12we came to the Rajya Sabha.
03:13I agree that our members have said
03:16that there should have been time to give suggestions,
03:20but everyone has agreed,
03:22that the question that our member raised in the morning,
03:25the Chairman has said,
03:27that we have also decided in the Business Advisory Committee,
03:30that this has to be discussed here today.
03:33The Joint Committee has given its full time in 10 cities,
03:36Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai,
03:39Bengaluru, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Kolkata and Lucknow.
03:46Today, I would like to thank each and every member of the committee.
03:52I would like to thank the rest of the people who have spoken in this bill.
03:56When I give my final answer,
03:58I will definitely thank them.
04:02Sir,
04:04every person,
04:08I am speaking as a minister in this Parliament,
04:12but in a simple way,
04:14I expect that if someone does a good job,
04:17I will definitely praise him.
04:19And,
04:21especially,
04:23I will get more praise from those people,
04:26whose wishes I am fulfilling.
04:29That is why,
04:31Mr. Sabhapati,
04:33in 1976,
04:36when the Inquiry Report was presented,
04:39who formed that committee, sir?
04:42The Congress government formed the committee,
04:45and set up the Inquiry Commission.
04:47When the Commission presented the report,
04:51it is a very long report,
04:53I will quote what is relevant here.
04:56Misused by Mutawalis,
04:59and the Inquiry Committee
05:02called out the Mutawalis misusing the authority and power,
05:06and proposed for steps to be taken
05:09to improve the functioning of the Waqf.
05:39What the Inquiry Committee said,
05:41firstly,
05:43the Waqf Board
05:45should be strengthened.
05:48And this is happening in the old system,
05:50it should be digital.
05:52At the same time,
05:53the Inquiry Committee said,
05:55that at that time,
05:57there were 4.9 lakh Waqf properties in this country.
06:01Today it has increased,
06:02but at that time, in 2006,
06:04and 4.9 lakh Waqf properties,
06:08the registered Waqf properties,
06:10their total income was only Rs. 163 crores per annum.
06:18Rs. 160 crores.
06:20And at the same time,
06:22the Inquiry Committee also said,
06:24also commented,
06:26and suggested,
06:28that if those 4.9 lakh properties
06:33are managed efficiently,
06:35at that time,
06:37the income would have been Rs. 12,000 crores per annum.
06:43It should have been Rs. 12,000 crores,
06:46but it has been Rs. 163 crores per annum.
06:49After that,
06:51we calculated,
06:53that today,
06:55the 1.72 lakh property,
07:00has increased so much,
07:02that we cannot even calculate it.
07:04And I should not calculate it,
07:07because the market has its own formula.
07:10But there is a common sense,
07:12that if the Inquiry Committee
07:14calculated the 4.9 lakh property,
07:16and estimated that the income should be Rs. 12,000 crores,
07:19then today,
07:21you can calculate the market rate,
07:25and estimate it.