National land seized in the name of mosques, churches, VHP tells Waqf Joint Parliamentary Committee

In a letter to Waqf JPC chairman, VHP leader Alok Kumar, Justice (retired) VS Kokje, and Justice (retired) Vijaya Lakshmi said that many properties in Scheduled Areas have been notified as waqf properties. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in a presentation to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, alleged that thousands of properties in scheduled areas across the country have been taken in the name of mosques, churches, burial grounds, zaretc. The rights movement demanded that such land be returned to tribal communities.

The demand comes at a time when the Assembly polls in Jharkhand are around the corner and the Bharatiya Janata Party is pressing the issue of demographic change in the State due to influx of Bangladeshis to get tribal votes. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said last week that if the BJP gets majority in Jharkhand, the land taken from the tribals by Muslims will be returned.

In a letter to Waqf JPC chairman, VHP leader Alok Kumar, Justice (retired) VS Kokje, and Justice (retired) Vijaya Lakshmi said that many properties in Scheduled Areas have been notified as waqf properties.

“This violates the protection given to Scheduled Tribes in respect of lands included in Scheduled Areas. Such transfers are illegal and violate constitutional protections for nations,” the letter reads.

Scheduled areas are regions with a large tribal population and are managed under a special mechanism where the Central Government plays a direct role in protecting the cultural and economic interests of the people living in these areas.

The VHP leader in the letter added that all properties declared as waqf within Scheduled or tribal areas should be reviewed by District Collectors.

“All these buildings that are used by non-Native people or purposes, namely. mosques/churches, cemeteries, zar, scumbags and dargahs etc., which violates the law prohibiting the transfer of lands under Schedule V of the Constitution should be returned to the Nation,” the letter reads.

The VHP said that it should be mandatory to refer the matter to the Collector for examination in cases where it is proposed that the land be declared as waqf by the waqf board in the scheduled area.

“The decision of the Collector will be final,” said the VHP.

The Central Government introduced the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament on July 28. The Bill proposes the inclusion of non-Muslim and Muslim women on waqf boards; it deprives the board of the power to declare the property as waqf. Amid strong opposition from the Opposition, the Bill was referred to the JPC headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal on August 8. The JPC had asked for a public hearing on the matter last month.