SHILLONG, April 12: Meghalaya State BJP is all set to embark on a mission to dispel misinformation surrounding the Waqf (Amendment) Act, by means of organising workshops and awareness campaigns throughout the State for weeks at a stretch.
Informing that the State unit has been directed by its leadership in New Delhi to do so, State BJP leader Gagan Jain said, “We were enlightened and told that we have to take the truth about the Act and dispel all the misinformation that the opposition is carrying forward”.
Pointing out that the North Eastern States and the tribals have been left out of the purview of the bill, he said, “We have to enlighten the tribal people about it”.
Terming the bill as an important piece of legislation, he said, “This is a very important bill it will empower the Muslim ladies not empowered before, benefit the orphans and also ensure there is a right to appeal if the waqf board decides to take away the property of anybody”.
“Earlier there was no right to appeal to illegal and wrongful approach to properties by the Waqf and now it has also been taken care by this very important act,” he added.
The Shillong Muslim Union had recently convened a meeting of various Muslim organisations to discuss recent developments regarding Waqf land in India, especially the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill in both houses of Parliament.
General secretary of the SMU, Noor Nongrum, expressed his regret over what he described as misinformation intended by the government.
He informed that the right to challenge the decisions of the Waqf Tribunal in the High Court has always existed and the government is misleading the people by presenting this as a new amendment.
He also questioned the composition of the Waqf Board, as the new amendment allowed people from other religions to become members in it.