'Will empower underprivileged sections': BJP leader CR Kesavan on AIMPLB protest on Waqf Bill

NEW DELHI: In response to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board's nationwide protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill, BJP leader CR Kesavan stated on Wednesday that the legislation aims to benefit disadvantaged Muslims.
"The Congress government repressive and regressive 1995 Waqf Act greatly victimises and dangerously discriminates against the disadvantaged sections of the Muslim community. This Waqf Amendment Bill will empower underprivileged sections of the Muslim community like children, poor, widows and women," Kesavan expressed in a self-recorded video.

"In 2013, the communal Congress peddling its dangerous agenda of political appeasement and vote bank politics amended the Waqf Act, this gave unfettered powers arbitrary, authority and control to vicious vested interest who went on to exploit, corner and manipulate assets meant for poorer sections of the community," he added.
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who chairs the Joint Parliamentary Committee, suggested that AIMPLB intends to create confusion amongst minorities. The AIMPLB and opposition parties have opposed the Waqf Bill, claiming it undermines Muslim minority rights.
Pal stated that the government's intention is to improve the law to benefit minorities, particularly the underprivileged. He criticised the opposition's protests at Jantar Mantar and planned demonstrations in Patna and Vijayawada, suggesting these actions aim to divide people.
AIMPLB Spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas criticised the Central government on Tuesday, stating, "We have only said that the Waqf Bill, which has been brought in, is just with a communal intention...That bill only captures the Waqf property...They are trying to mislead the people."
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposes reforms including digitalisation, strengthened auditing, increased transparency, and legal provisions to recover illegally occupied properties.
The amendment seeks to ensure proper utilisation of Waqf properties for their intended purpose, benefiting both the Muslim community and the nation.