TMC likely to table resolution opposing Centre's Waqf (Amendment) Bill

Kolkata: West Bengal's ruling TMC is considering tabling a resolution to oppose the Centre's proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, during the winter session of state Assembly which is likely to begin on November 25.

The TMC strongly opposed the central legislation, perceiving it as an encroachment on state rights and a move to marginalise minority communities.

As a countermeasure, the resolution aims to register the state's protest and outline measures to safeguard the interests of minorities while maintaining state autonomy over Waqf matters, assembly sources said.

"A resolution opposing the Centre's Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will be tabled during the winter session. There are also reports that the state government might table a Bill aiming to safeguard the interests of minorities while maintaining state autonomy over Waqf matters, tough nothing concrete has been decided," a senior TMC leader said.

The central government's Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has sparked widespread debate, with opposition parties and minority organisations alleging that it seeks to centralise control over Waqf properties, undermining state rights and community autonomy.

Trinamool Congress MPs, led by Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Nadimul Haque and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee, recently held a press conference criticising the proposed central legislation.

Alleging high-handedness and arbitrary actions by the chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Kalyan Banerjee, on November 7, said opposition members of the JPC would boycott the next round of meetings.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a vocal critic of the BJP-led central government, had earlier opposed the Bill.

Although state parliamentary affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay remained tightlipped about the resolution or the reported Bill, a senior TMC leader said, "Mamata Banerjee has always championed the rights of minorities. This resolution is another example of her government's commitment to protecting marginalised communities." Predictably, the opposition BJP has criticised the state government's move, calling it "political posturing." BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya alleged that the TMC's decision to introduce a separate Waqf Bill was a diversionary tactic.

"This is not about protecting minorities; this is about creating a smokescreen to hide the rampant mismanagement of Waqf properties in Bengal," Bhattacharya said.

The CPI(M) and Congress, while opposing the Centre's Bill, have also questioned the TMC's intentions.

"The state government has failed to address long-standing issues in the Waqf administration. Instead of bringing meaningful reform, it is engaging in theatrics," said CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty.

The minorities, which comprise nearly 30 per cent of the electorate in West Bengal, had backed TMC since 2011.