Bengaluru, 28 Nov

Former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Dr K Rahman Khan has dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations that Congress party disregarded Supreme Court orders to pursue vote-bank politics through appeasement policies.

Modi had cited an example of Delhi Waqf Board to attack Congress. The Prime Minister claimed that just before leaving office in 2014, the Congress-led UPA government handed over properties in Delhi to the Waqf Board. He also said the Constitution, as drafted by BR Ambedkar, does not mention the Waqf Board, implying its creation was politically motivated.

Citing historical and legal aspects, Khan called Modi’s claims baseless rumours. The ownership of 123 Waqf properties, including mosques, graveyards, mausoleums and madrasas, is not new and spans over three decades, the former Union minister of minority affairs said. These properties are significant places of faith and worship and the process of identifying these properties began during Indira Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister (1970s); and it was not a last-minute decision by the Congress government as alleged by Modi.

During Gandhi’s administration, a government committee identified 400–500 properties in Delhi as Waqf properties, out of which 123 were officially recognised, the Congress leader said. These properties were subsequently leased for 99 years.

This was not politically motivated but a restoration of these properties to their rightful status based on historical and legal evidence, the former MP said.

The properties were religious and not utilised for any governmental purposes. After years of legal proceedings, the Delhi High Court eventually ruled in favour of returning these properties to the Waqf Board. The government’s decision to notify these properties as Waqf was lawful and aimed at preserving their religious and cultural heritage, Dr Khan said.

Dr Khan, former deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, is a seasoned politician and has a significant role in shaping the legislation governing Waqf properties in India. He spearheaded the 2013 amendments to the Waqf Act of 1995. —Salar News