New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP Thursday morning over proposed amendments to 44 sections of the Waqf Act of 1995, declaring the Bill a pretext to profit from sale of Waqf-owned lands and that the ruling outfit should rename itself ‘Bharatiya Zameen (land) Party’.

Mr Yadav’s sarcastic swipe came hours before Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tables the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act in the Lok Sabha.

The proposed amendments will change 44 sections of the older legislation, including allowing non-Muslims and Muslim women to be named to central and state Waqf bodies. Among other major proposed changes are omission of Section 40 from the existing law, which allows the Board to classify properties; this means it can, under current rules, declare any of its properties as Waqf.

“All these amendments… are just an excuse. Selling land (owned by) Defence Ministry, Railways, and Nazul land (i.e., land inherited from the colonial British government) is the target. Waqf Board lands are just another link in the chain of ‘schemes for the benefit of BJP’…” Mr Yadav said in Hindi on X.

‘वक़्फ़ बोर्ड’ का ये सब संशोधन भी बस एक बहाना है
रक्षा, रेल, नज़ूल लैंड की तरह ज़मीन बेचना निशाना है

वक़्फ़ बोर्ड की ज़मीनें, डिफ़ेंस लैंड, रेल लैंड, नज़ूल लैंड के बाद ‘भाजपाइयों के लाभार्थ योजना’ की शृंखला की एक और कड़ी मात्र हैं। भाजपा क्यों नहीं खुलकर लिख देती : ‘भाजपाई-हित… pic.twitter.com/VwK3YyWAG5

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 8, 2024

“Why doesn’t BJP openly write: ‘Issued in interest of BJP’? BJP is working like a real estate company. It should change its name by adding ‘Zameen’ instead of ‘Janta’: Bhartiya Zameen Party.”

Mr Yadav called for a “written guarantee that Waqf Board lands will not be sold”.

Waqf Boards across India own nearly eight lakh acres, making it the largest private land-owning organisation. The Defence Ministry and the Railways have more, but they are government-owned.

The proposal to alter the Waqf Act has been heavily criticised by the opposition and some members of the Muslim community, and fiery protests are likely when the amendments are tabled later today.

Earlier today, Congress MPs KC Venugopal and Hibi Eden filed notices to oppose introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. Akhilesh Yadav’s party will also oppose the Bill.

NDTV Explains | Non-Muslims On Boards, Council Can’t Claim Land: Waqf Changes

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has given notice to oppose the amendments, claiming it is against rights guaranteed under the Constitution, including freedom to practice religion. “The amendments are discriminatory and arbitrary, and are a grave attack on the basic structure of the Constitution as it violates principle of judicial independence and separation of powers,” Mr Owaisi said.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board said changes “will not be tolerated”. Spokesman SQR Ilyas said the government wants to change the status of Waqf properties so “possession is easier”. Also, the Tamil Nadu Board chief told NDTV called it a ploy to “weaken” and “destabilise” such organisations.

READ | ”No Need For Amendment”: Tamil Nadu Waqf Board On Centre’s Move

The government, however, has dismissed such claims.

Sources told NDTV the idea is to empower Muslim women and children who “suffered” under the old law. The objective, sources declared, is also to curb illegal occupancy of by Waqf boards.

READ | Waqf Law Change To Help Women, Say Government Sources

Sources also claimed a “dangerous narrative” is being manufactured by certain Muslim clerics who are making wild statements that their land will be snatched

The government, meanwhile, also wants the passage of the bill to be “inclusive” exercise, and is willing to send the amendments to a joint committee for further study, sources said.

The 1995 Wakf Act was passed to regulate ‘auqaf‘ (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a ‘wakif’ (the person who dedicates the property). The legislation was last amended in 2013.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Akhilesh Yadav has underlined his distrust of EVMs, or Electronic Voting Machines, stating he would be loath to change his opinion even if he were to win all of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats.

“I did not trust EVMs yesterday, I don’t trust them today. Even if I win all 80 seats in UP, I still will not trust EVMs. This will always be an issue,” the ex-UP Chief Minister said, “We (Mr Yadav’s Samajwadi Party) will remain adamant on this… if we win with EVMs we will still remove it.”

“This will never be resolved till use of EVM is stopped… and we are determined to do so,” he said in Parliament, replying to the Motion of Thanks on President Droupadi Murmu’s address last week.

The opposition’s red flags over EVMs – that they can be hacked and/or votes manipulated – were a major flashpoint before and during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, with the Supreme Court ruling on petitions mid-poll. The court ultimately dismissed a pleas seeking a paper cross-check of each vote.

#WATCH | On EVMs, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav says,”…EVM pe mujhe kal bhi bharosa nahi tha, aaj bhi nahi hai bharosa, mein 80/80 seats jeet jaun tab bhi nahi bharosa…The issue of EVM has not died” pic.twitter.com/UJIS6hBGQt

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2024

That did not, however, silence opposition leaders who doubted the technology, of whom Mr Yadav has been among the most vocal. He raised similar questions during the 2022 UP state election too.

READ | Officer Admitted To “Lapse”: SP Tweets Video In EVM Row

During that election Mr Yadav also accused the BJP of trying to steal votes, with specific reference to alleged illegal activities in Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha seat.

And in December, weeks before the Lok Sabha election, the SP leader said EVMs – he referred to them as “those machines” – “… have created a feeling of distrust in the minds of the people”.

READ | EVMs Create Distrust, Should Use Ballot Papers: Akhilesh Yadav

He pointed to the United States as an example; the US Presidential election uses paper ballots.

“In the most powerful country in the world… months are spent on counting… (in India) over 140 crore people decide the country’s future. Why do you want results in three hours?” he had asked.

The opposition’s attacks over the use of EVMs got an unexpected boost last month after X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk responded to a post by Robert F Kennedy Jr, ex-President John F Kennedy’s nephew on polling irregularities in the American territory of Puerto Rico.

READ | INDIA Allies Latch On To Musk’s Remarks On EVMs

Akhilesh Yadav was among the opposition leaders who spoke up.

“Technology is to remove problems… if they become a cause of problems their use must be stopped. When risks of tampering are being flagged in elections across the world, and well-known technology experts are flagging risks, BJP must clear the air on why they are bent on using EVMs,” he said.

Despite such protests, however, the Election Commission has maintained EVMs constitute a viable voting method, and that robust technical and administrative safeguards are in place for their use.

READ | In VVPAT Case, Court’s 2 Big Directions On EVMs, SUs

Mr Yadav’s Samajwadi Party is part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc that stymied the BJP’s grand ‘abki baar, 400 paar‘ plan in the 2024 election. The SP won 37 seats – its best Lok Sabha poll return.

Mr Yadav contested and won his family bastion of Kannauj.

That restricted the BJP to just 33 seats in a state it has dominated since 2014; fueled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and later by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the BJP had swept UP in four consecutive elections – two Lok Sabha and two Assembly – before the opposition’ reality check.

The BJP finished the election with only 240 seats but retained power thanks to 53 won by allies.

The opposition – the INDIA bloc – won 232 seats, with a rejuvenated Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, picking up 99 to more than double its tally from the last two elections.

With input from PTI

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