Waqf Act will protect rights of 'poor' Muslims, claims Rajasthan CM

Jaipur, April 16 (IANS) Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Wednesday claimed that the Waqf Act will protect the rights of ‘poor’ Muslims, and will also help to prevent illegal encroachments.

“The new Waqf Act will protect the rights of ‘poor’ Muslims, especially women, and will ensure due process, including a 90-day notice, before any Waqf-related claim, helping prevent illegal encroachments and enabling rightful property ownership,” claimed the Chief Minister while addressing a BJP workshop at party headquarters in Jaipur.

Sharma further claimed that income from authenticated Waqf properties will be used solely for the benefit of the Muslim community.

“Those opposing the law are doing so not out of concern for Muslims but to shield their own vested interests,” alleged the Chief Minister.

He also accused the Congress and other opposition parties of habitually opposing positive reforms, and recalled similar fears spread during the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which, he said, had proven baseless.

Meanwhile, the state BJP in charge, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, said that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, 15 per cent of the Muslim population has received 70 per cent of the benefits from various government schemes.

“During Congress rule, Muslims were pushed into menial jobs like puncture repair. The society must introspect on who was truly responsible for this,” he said.

BJP state president Madan Rathore also claimed that the new Waqf Act aims to uplift poor Muslims and called on party workers to counter opposition “propaganda” with facts.

“Before 2014, the Congress spread fear that the BJP would harm Muslims. Yet, after 11 years of BJP rule, Muslims have seen progress and have benefited from every major scheme. While the Congress sees Muslims as a vote bank, the BJP regards them as respected citizens of India,” claimed Rathore.

He also pointed out the underutilisation of Waqf properties, stating that despite having significant assets, the Waqf Board has not used them effectively for the community’s welfare.

He called for transparency and proper utilisation of Waqf resources for the benefit of orphans, underprivileged Muslims, widows, and divorced women.

The event also saw the presence of BJP National Minister Alka Gurjar, Deputy Chief Minister Premchand Bairwa, Education Minister Madan Dilawar, Law Minister Jogaram Patel, Rajya Sabha MPs Ghanshyam Tiwari and Rajendra Gehlot, former state chief Arun Chaturvedi, former Leader of Opposition Rajendra Singh Rathore, and others.

The programme was introduced by former Union Minister Kailash Chaudhary, and BJP state Vice President Mukesh Dadhich conducted the proceedings.

Hamid Khan Mewati delivered the vote of thanks.

--IANS

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