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Badruddin Ajmal claims Parliament building made on Waqf property, slammed by BJP
Kiren Rijiju said that India has the largest Waqf properties globally, urging their use for the welfare of women, children in the Muslim community.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday appealed to all MPs to support the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 saying that India has the largest Waqf properties and they should be utilised for the welfare of the Muslim community.
The minister's statement followed a controversy triggered by AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, who claimed that the Parliament building and its surrounding areas in the national capital were built on Waqf property.
“We appeal to all MPs to support the Waqf Amendment Bill. Parliament & Municipal buildings, Airports, cities & villages need protection. India has largest Waqf properties in the world. We must use them for the welfare of women, children & backward groups within Muslim community,” Rijiju wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Badruddin Ajmal also claimed that the area around Vasant Vihar, extending to the airport in the national capital, has been built on Waqf property.
“It is wrong to use Waqf land without permission. They will soon lose their ministry over this Waqf Board issue,” he added.
Reacting to his claims, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said that Badruddin Ajmal is engaging in appeasement politics because his entire vote bank supported Congress in the Lok Sabha election, leading to his defeat.
“I would like to tell these leaders – do not insult the Constitution while indulging in appeasement politics. The Constitution upholds secularism, and secularism means we cannot lease out the sovereignty of the country to any private body. If it were up to them, they would claim every land as Waqf land. This is why the government is working to bring the Waqf Amendment Act, so that it truly benefits poor Muslims,” Bhandari said.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla regarding ‘gross violations’ of the parliamentary code of conduct during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024.
In the letter, the opposition MPs accused Committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal of multiple breaches of the parliamentary code of conduct and rules of procedure during the meeting held on 14 October in New Delhi.
