Tripura minister demands 'Sanatan Dharma Board' for protection of Hindu temples

Tripura Minister Sudhanshu Das has proposed the creation of a Sanatan Dharma Board, similar to the Waqf Board for the protection of Hindu temples. 

Speaking to ANI, Das said, "Why there is no board for our Sanatan Dharam when there is a Waqf board for the Muslim community...Our demand is there should be a board for our Sanatan Dharam, to protect the temples. We have seen what happened in Tirupati. So there should be a broad for us. We must have a board (Sanatan board) to protect all our temples... If it is not given to us then don't give it to anyone else, this is our demand." 

The Waqf board is a legal entity that has the power to acquire, hold, and transfer property. 

The government established Waqf Act, 1995, to regulate waqf properties, but it has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments. 

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha this August, seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. 
Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is undertaking a study tour of five cities in India. The committee will visit Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna, and Lucknow from November 9 to November 14 as part of its examination of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

In a related development, the Waqf land and properties row has recently intensified in Karnataka, with JPC Chairperson Jagdambika Pal visiting various districts and meeting farmers' organisations in Huballi, Vijayapura, and other districts, accompanied by Tejasvi Surya. 

Pal announced that a fact-finding report would be presented in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. "We will submit the report in the upcoming winter session of Parliament," Pal told ANI.