Amit Shah clears the air on non-Muslims on Waqf Board: 'They won't run any religious
Amit Shah clears the air on non-Muslims on Waqf Board: 'They won't run any religious activity'
M.U.H
03/04/202527
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday defended the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, stating that fears being spread about interference in Muslim religious institutions were unfounded and politically motivated.
Addressing the House, Shah said, “Waqf Act and Board came into effect in 1995. All the arguments about the inclusion of non-Muslims inclusion are about interference in the Waqf. First of all, no non-Muslim would come into the Waqf. Understand this clearly. There is no such provision to include any non-Muslim among those who manage the religious institutions; we do not want to do this.”
He accused opposition parties of deliberately spreading “misconceptions” to instil fear in minorities. “This is a huge misconception that this Act will interfere with the religious conduct of Muslims and interfere with the property donated by them. This misconception is being spread to instil fear among minorities for their vote bank,” Shah said.
Explaining the scope of the Bill, he clarified that non-Muslim members will only be included in the Waqf Council and Waqf Board — and strictly for administrative roles. “What would they do? They won’t run any religious activity. They would only look after the administration of property donated by someone under Waqf Law, whether it is being done as per law, whether the property is being used for the intent with which it was donated.”
Shah also said that this bill would not have come if the Congress-led UPA had not amended the Waqf Act in 2013 and made it extreme. "From 1913 to 2013, the Waqf Board had a total of 18 lakh acres of land. Between 2013 and 2025, 21 lakh acres of land was added to it. That is, out of the total 39 lakh acres of land, 21 lakh acres of land is after 2013," Shah said in Lok Sabha.
The Waqf Bill, tabled by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, aims to amend the Waqf Act, 1995 to enhance transparency, remove administrative inefficiencies, and ensure better use of over 8.7 lakh Waqf properties across India — valued at Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
NDA allies TDP and JDU have backed the Bill in Parliament. TDP's Krishna Prasad Tenneti supported the Bill and urged the Centre to allow state governments flexibility in determining the composition of Waqf Boards, while JD(U) leader Lalan Singh accused the opposition of playing vote-bank politics. Singh said, “Pasmandas will stand with Modi in the coming days as they received justice under his government.”
Rijiju had earlier clarified that the bill is not retrospective and does not target mosques or religious properties, adding that the proposed changes are intended to benefit poor Muslims, women, and youth.
