Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government of trying to take over the properties of the Muslim community on the pretext of amending the Waqf Act and asserted that all minority communities should be given the freedom to manage their properties and religious institutions.

In a spirited speech in Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment Bill), 2024, , Harsimrat Badal alleged that the BJP government was showing false concern on the management of Waqf properties, said a statement issued here by the party.

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She said it was clear that the Centre wanted to take control of the properties and redistribute them as per its wishes and a smokescreen was being created that this was being done in the interest of the Muslim community. “The truth is that the BJP does not have any Muslim representative in Parliament. All 24 MPs from other parties have opposed the Bill. So, have all Opposition members, who were part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee which was formed to review the Bill”.

Asking if a party, whose entire politics revolved around Pakistan, Musalman, and Khalistan, can protect the interests of the Muslim community, Harsimrat Badal said the Bill smacked of politics. “The fact is that as many as 27 per cent of all Waqf properties in the country are in Uttar Pradesh. Since the state is going to the polls in one and a half years, a move is afoot to take over these properties and use them for ulterior means.”

The SAD leader also questioned why the BJP was following its own agenda and not listening to the voice of the Sikh community which had been demanding an Amendment in Article 25-B to make Sikhs distinct from Hindus.“Why a Bill in this regard is not being brought in parliament,” she asked, adding that “the Sikhs community is also facing a dilution of the community’s control over its religious shrines with government’s nominating members to their management boards”.

She said this had been done in the case of the management boards of Sri Hazur Sahib and Takht Patna Sahib. “Even the Shiromani Committee was broken to create a separate Gurdwara Committee for Haryana,” she recounted, while talking about the demolition of historic gurdwaras including Dangmar Sahib in Sikkim, Gian Godri in Haridwar and Mangu Math in Bhubaneswar.

Badal asserted that there can not be double standards in running religious institutions. “If the Central government feels it right to nominate non-Muslims or non-Sikhs to manage Boards and institutions of minorities, it should nominate Muslims to the management committee of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.”

Calling for a review of the entire Bill, Badal said: “Every minority should have the right to manage their institutions as per principles set by the ninth Sikh Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur ji to ensure safety and security for all.”