A coalition of anti-Trinamul citizen groups and Opposition parties have teamed up to demand the freeing of Waqf properties from the clutches of illegal occupants in Bengal.
The move — with the backing of the CPM and ISF — is aimed at eroding Trinamool's support base among Bengal's Muslims, who have firmly backed Mamata Banerjee's party for over a decade. The demand, a political observer said, comes ahead of the November 13 Assembly bypolls to six seats in the state to make the aim clearer amid charges that the TMC has facilitated the grabbing of many Waqf properties.
On Friday, various constituents of the coalition of citizen's groups such as an anti-NRC platform and madarsa teaching and non-teaching staff, backed by the CPM and the ISF, held a convention at the Galasia Sevok Sangha ground in Haroa to formally demand the freeing up of Waqf properties.
Waqf properties are buildings or plots designated for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law. The property donor is known as the waqif. The property is deemed to be owned by Allah. The waqif appoints an administrator or mutawalli to manage the property in exchange for a share of the income.
"There are over a lakh of Waqf properties in Bengal of which a few thousands have been grabbed by illegal occupants.... They are enjoying them using political clout," a mutawalli in North 24 Parganas said.
The Centre proposed an amendment to the existing Waqf Act (1995) in August. While the Centre asserted that the amendment, to be named the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 2024, aims to resolve issues in Waqf property management, the Opposition argued it undermined Muslim religious rights. The bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for review.
The Trinamool leadership in Bengal, despite its strong opposition to the amendment, has not yet taken the issue to the Muslim community, who comprise about 29 per cent of Bengal's population.
Friday's turnout at the convention in Haroa, one of the six bypoll seats, indicated the issue had currency among the constituency's voters, 65 per cent of whom are Muslims.
An observer said that the CPM and the ISF seemed to have sniffed an opportunity to team up on this issue ahead of the bypolls.
"The CPM and the ISF had differences during the Lok Sabha polls.... This time, they have buried the differences and have come together on this issue. It's clear that their aim is to grab a share of the TMC's Muslim support base," he said.
At the convention, ISF chairman and Bhangar MLA Nawsad Siddique demanded a "white paper" on "all Waqf properties in the state, showing their current status, so people can know who has illegally occupied them".
The forum also urged the Bengal government to act against the illegal occupation of Waqf properties.
According to the Union ministry of minority affairs, Bengal has around 80,480 immovable Waqf properties of which at least 2,000 are in Barasat-II, Deganga and Haroa blocks of the Haroa Assembly seat.
Prasenjit Bose, convener of the Joint Forum Against NRC, alleged: "Around 25,000 acres of 140,000 acres of Waqf land have been illegally occupied in the state.”
"We demand swift action by the state government to free up these properties from illegal occupants,” he added.
"People in Haroa know well who have illegally taken over these Waqf lands....,” Bose said, implying the TMC. "We also demand the scrapping of the proposed amendment, which aims to transfer powers from the Waqf Tribunal to bureaucrats and curb the religious rights of Muslims."
Trinamool's Haroa candidate, Sk Rabiul Islam, said: “Opposing the Centre’s new Waqf Act is right — we oppose it too. But claims about Trinamool leaders illegally occupying Waqf properties are unfounded."
