Govt yet to take a call on CBI investigation
More than a month after Central Waqf Council recommended disbanding of Shia and Sunni Waqf Boards and institution of a CBI probe into the alleged illegal sale of waqf properties, the state government is yet to take a call on the issue.
“Apart from the CWC, the demand for a CBI inquiry has been raised by prominent clerics and people from time to time. The state government has sought legal opinion on the issue and the CM, I am sure, will soon take a decision in the mattter,” said minister of state for Muslim Waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza when contacted by Hindustan Times. He said deep rooted corruption in both the waqf boards had rendered the two institutions defunct.
“There have been some very serious charges against people who were at the helm in the previous regime. And the only way to test their veracity was to hand over the inquiry to the country’s top investigating agency,” he said adding that the CM was aware of people’s expectations on the issue and would act accordingly.
In April this year, the Central Waqf Ccouncil, which comes under the Union Minority Welfare Ministry headed by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, had mounted pressure on the two boards and indicted former minority welfare minister Mohd Azam Khan in the Akhilesh Yadav regime of acquiring waqf land for his Maulana Mohd Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.
The charge was denied by Khan, who said though he had no control over the boards, which functioned as an independent entity, yet he was not afraid of any inquiry.
Prominent Shia cleric in Lucknow Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Faisal Lala, a Congress leader from Rampur, have also opened front against Khan demanding an inquiry into the waqf land deals under the SP government. While the former met the UP CM last week, Lala has petitioned the UP governor demanding a CBI probe against Khan.
There have been some serious charges against people who were at the helm in the previous regime. And the only way to test their veracity was to hand over the inquiry to the country’s top probe agency MOHSIN RAZA, minister of state for Muslim Waqf and Haj