Bill breaches Muslims’ right to perform religious duty, violates Article 26: TMC

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Kalyan Banerjee made the following statement in response to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday: "The bill is a clear breach of the Muslims to perform their religious duty and manage their religious affairs. Therefore, the bill is in complete violation of Article 26 of the Constitution." He asserted that Parliament was overstepping its jurisdiction by interfering with state legislative authority in matters pertaining to waqf land.

He claimed the Parliament lacked the competence to legislate on issues in the State List under the Seventh Schedule and opposed the clause authorizing an officer above the rank of district magistrate or collector to adjudicate government property disputes. He said, "A person cannot be the judge of his own cause."

The stipulation in the measure that a person must have "practiced Islam for at least five years" in order to donate property as waqf was criticized by Banerjee as an "unjust imposition."