SRINAGAR, India (AP) — India’s parliament passed a controversial bill moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments while Muslim groups and opposition parties protested the move.
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.
The debate was heated in both houses of parliament. The Lower House debated it Wednesday through early Thursday while in the Upper House, the fiery discussion lasted more than 16 hours into early Friday.
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.
In the Lower House, 288 members voted for the bill while 232 were against it. Similarly, 128 favored it and 95 voted ag …