BJP all set to resist enemy property bill

NEW DELHI: Home minister P Chidambaram attempted to work out a larger political consensus on the controversial Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, but could not get BJP on board.

Although the home ministry was initially against a new bill, pressure from a group of influential Muslim MPs prompted the prime minister to intervene and get the home ministry come up with a legislation to provide relief to members of families that migrated to Pakistan.

The original bill of the home ministry would have prevented family members of those who migrated to Pakistan at the time of Partition from going to court to regain possession of the property of their forefathers that had been seized as enemy property.

The new bill that is being piloted by the home ministry will vest it with powers to hand over enemy properties — worth thousands of crores of rupees — across the country to the claimants of these assets. A major beneficiary of the new law will be Raja of Mahmoodabad, M A Mohammad Khan, whose case is said to have been the trigger for bringing the Ordinance in July.

The Ordinance had invalidated the apex court order reinstating the properties of erstwhile Raja of Mahmoodabad. At that point the home ministry had argued that the SC ruling opened a Pandora’s box with owners of similar ‘enemy properties’ across the country coming forward to seek their restoration on the same plea.

BJP leaders L K Advani and Arun Jaitley told home minister Mr P Chidambaram that their party will not support the bill when it comes up in Parliament. “It is another case of appeasement. It is another Shah Bano. Under pressure from the community opinion, the government has abandoned the ordinance,” Mr Arun Jaitley told reporters.