The court, Mr Owaisi said, had not stayed the major amendments.
- Speaking to NDTV, the AIMIM chief said the order was not a good one for protecting Waqf properties
- The court, Owaisi said, had not stayed the major amendments
- The MP also spoke about the Bihar elections and a possible alliance with the INDIA bloc
Monday's Supreme Court order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act was not a good one for protecting Waqf properties despite certain clauses being stayed, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has said.
In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Mr Owaisi also spoke about the possibility of an alliance with the opposition INDIA bloc for the upcoming Bihar elections and explained why he opposed the India-Pakistan clash during the Asia Cup on Sunday.
In its order, the Supreme Court said the collector cannot be the final arbiter of disputes related to Waqf property ownership, stayed the requirement that only a person practising Islam for five years can dedicate property as Waqf and capped the requirement of non-Muslims in state Waqf boards and the central council.
Asked about his reaction to the order, Mr Owaisi said, "The government is not at all interested in protecting the Waqf system. They have called it an idea that is alien to our country. And with the Supreme Court not staying the major amendments, I am of the opinion that this will lead to encroachers of Waqf property being rewarded."
On the requirement of practising Islam for five years, the AIMIM chief, who has been elected the MP from Hyderabad five consecutive times, emphasised that the Supreme Court has not given a complete stay and said the government should enact rules.
"The devil will be in the details. Is there such a rule for any person who embraces religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, that some rules will be made before he can endow his own property to the religion he has embraced? That is not the case. So, the government would, I am sure, make rules in such a way that it will be difficult," he stressed.
Mr Owaisi argued that while the number of non-Muslims in the Waqf boards had been capped, the clause in the Act itself is a violation of Article 26 of the Constitution, which grants religious denominations and sections freedom over their religious affairs, institutions, and property.
He asked how non-Muslims are being included in Waqf Boards when the same is not true for the Hindu Endowments Board, the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committees or the Bodh Gaya trust.
"I feel that the honourable Supreme Court must start the final hearing on the pleas against this Act and we will put forward all these views again. But yesterday has not been a good day for the protection of Waqf properties," the AIMIM chief said.
Bihar Elections
The Prime Minister was in Purnia yesterday, part of the Seemanchal region in Bihar, where the AIMIM pulled off a stunner by winning five constituencies in the 2020 Assembly elections.
Asked about the PM's visit, Mr Owaisi said he was surprised the Purnia airport had not been inaugurated earlier.
"The Prime Minister has gone to Seemanchal, but can he tell the people there why their demand for a railway station in Kochadaman has not materialised? You (the BJP) have been in power for years and years. Why haven't you opened an AIIMS in Seemanchal? Why have you only made Gaya an industrial zone, why not Kishanganj, Araria or Katihar? So the Prime Minister went, but for what? Why have you not been able to control the flooding? Every year, lakhs of acres of land are cut off because of floods," he said.
On a tie-up with the INDIA bloc, the AIMIM chief said his party has written two letters to RJD chief Lalu Yadav and another to Tejashwi Yadav.
"In the letter to Tejashwi Yadav, we said that we only want six seats. We won five seats. Now it is up to them. They are independent and we are independent to contest seats. I don't know what will happen, but as far as our party is concerned, we will definitely contest with all the fervour, rigour and hard work that is required," he said.
India-Pak Match
To a question on his criticism of the India-Pakistan match during the Asia Cup, Mr Owaisi said it was being played only to earn money and the BJP would have opposed it tooth and nail, after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, if it was in the opposition.
"Nationalism does not mean that you only use it to win elections... Their argument that they will not play a bilateral does not hold water," he said.
