Waqf system must come out of 'touch-me-not' syndrome: BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

New Delhi: Former minority affairs minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said the Waqf system has to come out of the "touch-me-not" syndrome, and asserted that a "communal attack on inclusive reforms" is not right.

His remarks came after it emerged that the government is all set to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards to ensure more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies.

Sources claimed that the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community.

The amendment Bill will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation.

In a post in Hindi on X, Naqvi said, "The Waqf system will have to come out of the madness of 'touch-me-not' syndrome-politics." He also said "communal attack on inclusive reforms is not right".

Several Muslim organisations and clerics have opposed the proposed amendments in the Wakf Act, with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board saying that any interference with the legal status and the powers of Waqf boards will not be tolerated.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIMI) chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre wants to take away the autonomy of Waqf Boards.

The BJP has been against Waqf boards and Waqf properties "from the beginning" and it has made attempts to finish these as per its "Hindutva agenda", he claimed.