Tejashwi Yadav misleading people with eye on Bihar elections: Pal

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's remarks about "throwing the amended Waqf Act in dustbin" was an attempt to mislead people of Bihar ahead of assembly polls there, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said on Wednesday.

"There is a competition between Tejashwi and Owaisi. They treat Muslims as vote bank," Pal, chairman of joint parliamentary committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, told reporters in Mumbai.

Tejashwi had said that his Mahagathbandhan bloc, if elected to power in Bihar, will throw the amended Waqf Act in dustbin.

Pal claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi are opposing the legislation, while poor and Pasmanda Muslims across the country support it.

Pasmanda is an umbrella term encompassing Backward, Dalit, and Adivasi Muslims.

Pal said the Act aims to better manage Waqf properties for the benefit of needy Muslims.

He accused the Congress and RJD of playing with people's emotions and challenged them to point out any provision in the legislation that takes Waqf land from Muslims to give to others.

On Tejashwi's ''dustbin'' remark, Pal said the RJD leader is backing those who have illegally grabbed Waqf land.

Pal said the Narendra Modi-led government is implementing recommendations from the Sachar Committee report, which estimated that Waqf properties could generate Rs 12,000 crore annually. Only Rs 163 crore is currently realised, he added.

''It is clear that enough money was not generated. The Waqf land income was supposed to be utilised for poor, widowed women among others. The amount was disappearing somewhere,'' Pal claimed.

He emphasised that the amendment ensures transparent management, with all Waqf properties digitally recorded and details available on the Minority Affairs Ministry's portal. ''Waqf property, where the land is in the name of God, has been misused by people to construct a house, mall, etc,'' Pal said.

The JPC held 38 meetings and consulted stakeholders nationwide, Pal said.

''Earlier, women had no role in Waqf management; now every board will have to include them in the governing body. Two Muslim women will have to be there in the board. Other Muslim communities like Bohras and Aga Khanis will also get representation,'' he said.

The legislation upholds constitutional principles and ensures no one can seize Waqf property, Pal said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)