Waqf amendment bill not anti-Muslim: Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh

New Delhi: Janata Dal (U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' on Thursday said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Board and not an attempt to interfere with running of mosques.

As opposition leaders opposed the introduction of the bill, the JD(U) leader stood up to speak amid uproar by opposition members.

"JD(U) is a party here whether it is opposing or supporting, I have to record my view here," Singh said.

Defending the bill, he said, "Several members are making it sound as if the amendment in Waqf Board law is anti-Muslim. How is it anti-Muslim?" "Here example of Ayodhya is being given... Can you not differentiate between a temple and an institution? This is not an attempt to interfere with mosques. This law is for the institution, to make it transparent..." he claimed.

"How was the Waqf Board formed? It was through a law. Any institution established through law becomes autocratic. Government has the right to bring a law to ensure transparency," he said.

Slamming the opposition parties, he said, "There is no communal divide, they are spreading rumours".

Taking a jibe at the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he asked, "Who killed thousands of Sikhs".

"The Bill should come and transparency should be brought," he said.

The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill also aims at renaming the act as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.