New Delhi, Apr 17: A delegation of Dawoodi Bohras met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express their gratefulness to him for the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which has accommodated some of their key demands.
Officials said the community members told Modi that it was their long-pending demand as they reposed faith in his vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’.
They were accompanied by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in the meeting.
In a post on X, Modi said, “Had a wonderful meeting with members of the Dawoodi Bohra community! We talked about a wide range of issues during the interaction.”
In the interaction, a community member told Modi that they had been seeking exemption from the Waqf regulations since 1923 and lauded him for taking care of the “minority within a minority” with the new law that allows them to opt-out.
Another member said their community had bought an expensive property for a project in Bhindi Bazaar, a market in Mumbai, in 2015 and then someone from Nasik laid claim over it as a Waqf property in 2019.
His government, he told the prime minister, has put a stop to such a practice.
The community, a prosperous but miniscule minority among Shia Muslims, was represented by noted lawyer Harish Salve during their representation to the Joint Committee of Parliament, which was headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, that had scrutinised the bill tabled in Parliament.
It was based on the committee’s recommendations that several new amendments were introduced in the bill, which was enacted following its passage in Parliament amid strident criticism from opposition parties.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of pleas challenging the constitutionality of the law, described by the government as key to transparency and efficient management of Waqf properties. (PTI)
