People's Democracy

‘Reconstitute Central Wakf Council’

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP and chairman of the West Bengal Wakf Board, Hannan Mollah, has demanded immediate reconstitution of the Central Wakf Council (CWC).

Addressing a news conference here on November 20, he also demanded that an independent inquiry be instituted into the activities of the CWC during the last five years.

Alleging large scale misuse of the CWC damaging to the interests of the Wakf during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, he also demanded re-examination of all genuine proposals from various state wakf boards not entertained by the then CWC and reconstitution of Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

He also demanded resumption of payments of matching grants for stipend to meritorious students from the minority community and setting aside wrong decisions of the last CWC.

Stressing the need for immediate reconstitution of the CWC, he said the present CWC is illegally existing adding that the BJP had packed it with its henchmen. Citing examples, he said the CWC should have three members representing national level Muslim organisations.  The members nominated by the NDA government in this category comprised a Mumbai Shiv Sena activist, one BJP minority cell office bearer and one Alam Gir Khan whose antecedents are unknown.

Similarly, in the experts on Muslim jurisprudence category, it had nominated one structural engineer, one local Ujjain lawyer and one maulvi.

Mollah also released a letter written to the union social welfare minister, Meira Kumar, at the news conference. Excerpts from the letter:

“There are about one lakh wakf estates in the country and they are administered by the Central Wakf Act, 1995. Central Wakf Council, constituted by the Ministry of Welfare under the above Act, works for the wakf affairs. The NDA government reconstituted the Central Wakf Council in May 2003, violating the sections of the Wakf Act.  Names of the committee members were published in the Gazette of India dated May 2, 2003. The members mentioned in Serial 2, 3, 4 were nominated illegally without mentioning their eligibility to become member in those categories. As the chairman of the council, ex welfare minister Satya Narain Jatia not only did not take any interest about the wakf, on the contrary, worked against the interest of the Wakf.  No meetings were held of the council so far.

The CWC used to give matching grants to the state wakf boards for providing scholarship to meritorious minority students. No such matching grants was disbursed in 2002-2003 by the CWC thus depriving thousands of minority students and hampering their further studies.

Two Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for West Bengal & Assam, recommended by the education and welfare committee headed by Zafar Saiffulah, a former cabinet secretary, and to be run by West Bengal Wakf Board and Jamia-Ul-Ulema, Assam were not sanctioned by the NDA government. To pursue the matter I personally met the then welfare minister Jatia at least ten times and he always promised to sanction it next day but it was never done. The intention was very clear against the interest of minorities.

Maulana Azad Education Foundation used to grant financial help to minority institutions.  But such grant was not fully sanctioned by Jatia and Rs 9 crore remained unused for 2002-2003.

Punjab Wakf Board was trifurcated without seeking the advise of the CWC, which is the advisory body of the government of India on wakf matters. The viability of the action also was not considered and two new wakf boards were created for Himachal Pradesh and union territory of Chandigarh where the expenditure is more than income from the wakf and it was impossible to constitute the existing Wakf Board as it was not possible to form an electoral college as per the provision of the Wakf Act, 1995.” (INN)