Opposition members seek extension in tenure of parliamentary panel on Waqf Bill

The Opposition members in the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded a reasonable extension to the panel’s tenure.

In a memorandum submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the opposition appealed to extend the tenure of the committee so that detailed discussions could be held on this bill. The members also complained to the Speaker about the committee chairman Jagdambika Pal and accused him of bulldozing the proceedings on this important issue. DMK MP A. Raja said after meeting the Speaker that we clearly told him that the chairman of the committee is not following the correct procedure and he is trying to crush the proceedings in a hurry.

The committee members who met the speaker included DMK leaders A. Raja and M. Abdullah, Congress' Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood. Apart from this, Trinamool MPs Kalyan Banerjee and M. Nadimul Haque, Sanjay Singh from Aam Aadmi Party, Mohibullah from SP and Asaduddin Owaisi from AIMIM were also present.

The Opposition members wrote that the committee had its first meeting on August 22. They said so far, 25 committee meetings have taken place and these meetings have witnessed representations and evidences from relevant organisations. On the other hand, they wrote, presentations by various state governments such as Bihar, New Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh are pending. The amendments to the Waqf Act are expansive and require proper deliberations. Several stakeholders are also yet to share their views with the committee. The Opposition also said if legislations are discussed nearly as a formality without giving substantive opportunity to the stakeholders to present their views, it undermines the legislative process and the majesty of the Parliament.

Meanwhile Speaker Om Birla assured the opposition MPs that he will favourably consider their request of extending the deadline for the joint Parliamentary panel on Waqf Amendment Bill. The Bill proposes to radically alter the Waqf Act 1995 with some of its provisions such as empowering the district collector, instead of the Waqf Tribunal, to decide disputes and including non-Muslims in the waqf boards drawing fierce criticism from Opposition quarters. The government for its part has listed Waqf Act amendment Bill as a key legislative agenda for passage in the winter session of Parliament, which commenced on Monday and will end on December 20.