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Informist, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024

NEW DELHI – The Joint Parliamentary Committee, constituted to examine the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is set to hold on Thursday its first meeting after the Lok Sabha granted it an extension last week, people familiar with the matter said. The agenda for the meeting has not been circulated yet, the sources said.

Granting the extension sought by the committee, the Lok Sabha has now given it time till the final day of the Budget Session of Parliament next year to submit its report on the Bill. The committee was earlier mandated to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the end of the first week of the Winter Session. Parliament's Winter Session started on Nov. 25 and is scheduled to end on Dec. 20.

Bharatiya Janata Party member Jagdambika Pal, who chairs the committee, told reporters Wednesday that the committee was unanimous in its view to seek more time as it has to listen to some other stakeholders, including six states where there are disputes between the waqf boards and the state governments.

"We still have to invite and listen to other stakeholders and state officials from six states where there are disputes between waqf (boards) and state governments," Pal had told reporters after a meeting of the panel. "Regarding 123 properties, there is a dispute between the government of India, the urban development ministry, and waqf boards. So we felt the need to extend the committee's tenure."

On Nov. 25, a delegation of opposition members had called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and requested him to extend the tenure of the committee. They alleged that the committee had included "evidence/presentation by various irrelevant organisations and individuals... At the same time, various state governments, including Bihar, New Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, are yet to present before the committee. Furthermore, various representative stakeholder organisations are still seeking time before the committee to present their views," the letter submitted by the opposition members said.

The committee held its first meeting on Aug. 22 and has so far held 26 sittings. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, for "effective management" of assets and administration of waqf properties, was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Aug. 8.

The bill mandates non-Muslim members in state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council. It further seeks to omit Section 40 of the Act, which empowered waqf boards to decide if a property was waqf property. It also seeks to streamline the registration of waqfs through a central portal and database, and makes it mandatory to file within six months details of the waqf and the properties dedicated to it. The provision will have retrospective effect.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance has opposed the Bill and alleged that it was framed without consulting the stakeholders. Opposition leaders have called it anti-Muslim, against cooperative federalism, and politically motivated. The Opposition also alleged that the Bill violates the constitutional right to freedom of religion.  End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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