Indian parliament’s Lower House passes controversial bill that would change Muslim endowments

 SRINAGAR, India (AP) — The Lower House of India’s parliament early Thursday passed a controversial bill moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments.

The bill would add non-Muslims to boards that manage waqf land endowments and give the government a larger role in validating their land holdings. The government says the changes will help to fight corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity, but critics fear that it will further undermine the rights of the country’s Muslim minority and could be used to confiscate historic mosques and other property.

As hourslong debate in the Lower House grew heated as the Congress-led opposition firmly opposed the proposal, calling it unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a majority in the Lower House, but its allies helped to pass the bill.

The debate that began Wednesday ended with 288 members voting for the bill while 232 were against it early Thursday. The bill will now need to clear the Upper House before it is sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent to become law.

Later Thursday, lawmakers in the Upper House began debating the bill. At least eight hours have been set aside for discussion.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the bill to change a 1995 law that set rules for the foundations and set up state-level boards to administer them.

Many Muslim groups as well as the opposition parties say the proposal is discriminatory, politically motivated and an attempt by Modi’s ruling party to weaken minority rights.

The bill was first introduced in parliament last year, and opposition leaders have said some of their subsequent proposals on it were ignored. The government has said opposition parties are using rumors to discredit them and block transparency in managing the endowments.

In India, waqf property is managed by semi-official boards, one for each state and federally run union territory. The law would require non-Muslims to be appointed to the boards.

Currently, waqf boards are staffed by Muslims, like similar bodies that help administer other religious charities.

During the parliamentary debate, Home Minister Amit Shah said non-Muslims would be included in waqf boards only for administration purposes and helping run the endowments smoothly. He added that they were not there to interfere in religious affairs.

“The (non-Muslim) members will monitor whether the administration is running as per law or not, and whether the donations are being used for what they were intended or not,” he said.