cm stalin wrote a letter to the prime minister on the waqf bill

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (April 2) demanding the withdrawal of Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Stalin said that the constitution gives every citizen the right to follow their respective religion and it is the duty of the elected governments to maintain and protect this right. However, the proposed amendments in the Waqf Act, 1995 have not taken into consideration the constitutional protection given to the minorities and “are bound to severely damage the interests of the Muslim community. The Chief Minister demanded the Prime Minister’s personal intervention on the issue and underlined that the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly had passed a proposal a few days ago to request the bill from the Center.

The provisions of the current Waqf Act have met the test of time and they provide protection to the assets of Waqf. The proposed amendments to the Waqf Act will weaken the powers and responsibilities of the Waqf boards in the management and conservation of Waqf properties. The current Act will weaken the original spirit of the proposed large -scale amendment act in various sections. For example, the proposal to compulsorily include two non-Muslim members in the state Waqf boards will weaken the religious autonomy of the Muslim community’s ability to manage its religious and charitable funds independently. The removal of the ‘Waqf’ provision by the user threatens the status of many historical Waqf properties.

The condition that only those who follow Islam for at least five years can donate property to Waqf, will prevent non-Muslims from donating property to Waqf which will obstruct the country’s coordinating culture. Since the current Waqf Act, 1995 is sufficient and there are clear provisions for the protection of Waqf’s interests and assets, we believe that there is no need for such far -reaching amendments in the current Waqf Act, 1995.