The motion said that the House extends time for the presentation of the report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, up to the last day of Budget Session 2025. …reports Asian Lite News
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not transact any major business for the third successive day on Thursday following adjournments over opposition demands for discussion on the Adani issue, Sambhal violence and Manipur situation.
The two Houses were first adjourned till 12 noon and later for the day.
The Lok Sabha adopted a motion, moved by Jagdambika Pal, chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Bill, for presenting the report by the last day of Budget Session next year. Opposition members had been seeking an extension of the tenure of the committee.
The motion said that the House extends time for the presentation of the report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, up to the last day of Budget Session 2025.
The motion was adopted amid din in the House.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to introduce sweeping reforms, including digitisation, stricter audits, greater transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
Earlier, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan took oath as Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Opposition members have been continuously pushing to have a discussion on the floor on the Adani issue, Sambhal violence and the Manipur situation, raising slogans in the Parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the opposition saying they were encroaching on rights of members who want the House to function.
Speaker Om Birla had also urged opposition members to not protest over their demands and not disrupt proceedings.
Amid disruptions in Parliament over opposition’s demands, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar said that parliamentary disruption is not a remedy but a malady and urged the members to engage in the “traditional thoughtful discussion” and embrace the spirit of meaningful dialogue.
“Parliamentary disruption is not a remedy, it’s a malady. It weakens our foundation. It slides parliament into irrelevance. We must continue to have our relevance. When we engage in this kind of conduct, we deviate from constitutional ordainment. We show our back to our duties. If parliament strays from its constitutional duty to represent people’s hopes and aspirations, it is our duty to nurture nationalism, further democracy. I urge you all to embrace the spirit of meaningful dialogue. Let us return to traditional thoughtful discussion,” the Vice President said.
Dhankhar, who is Rajya Sabha Chairman, said that 75th National Constitution Day on November 26 was a moment for parliamentarians to send a message of hope to 1.4 billion people.
“Yesterday marked a historic milestone – the beginning of the final quarter-century before our Constitution turns 100. This was a moment for our House of Elders, guided by the spirit of nationalism, to send a powerful message of hope to 1.4 billion people, reaffirming our commitment to their dreams and aspirations and our journey towards Vikshit Bharat at 2047. It is with deep concern, I must say we missed this historic opportunity where there should have been productive dialogue, constructive engagement, echoing the collective aspirations of our people, we fell short of their expectations,” he said.
He said parliament is a platform for productive discussion.
“I plead with you, I request you for cooperation. Allow me to take agenda of the day. Be assured, you shall have opportunity to raise all issues. Parliament is a platform for productive discussion. Question hour is important. I have already taken a call…. I cannot allow this house to get into irrelevance. We should not dishonour the spirit of those who gave us this Constitution,” he said.
Dhankhar earlier said that everyone in the Parliament should have the highest regard for conforming to the rules of the House, as any such deviation in tantamount to being sacrilegious to the “temple of democracy.”
“If we start having our practice my way or no way, that is not only not democratic, that will pose a great challenge to the very existence of this sacred theatre. I have no doubt any deviation from the rules is virtually sacrileging this temple,”he said.
The two Houses of Parliament have been witnessing adjournments since the commencement of winter session of Parliament on June 25.
LS passes motion to extend Waqf JPC term
The Lok Sabha adopted the motion to extend the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (amendment) bill on Thursday and to present their report at the end of the 2025 budget session instead.
JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal said that during the meeting held by the committee on Wednesday, it was decided that there are around 6 states where there is a dispute between the state government and waqf board on the ownership of properties, and looking at those disputes, it was decided to get an extension for the JPC.
“The speaker had given a mandate on JPC, but on the meeting held yesterday that since there are certain properties where there is a dispute between the state government and Waqf board, with the board claiming certain properties as theirs. There are 6 such states, we had asked for a reply from them but we haven’t gotten a reply from them,” he told ANI today.
He further said that the previous government had also decided on handing over the government properties to the Waqf board, but that decision had been stayed by the court.
“The properties were acquired by the Britishers in 1911 after giving compensation, then in 1970’s the Waqf board claimed that 123 such property is theirs, then as these problems arose when the previous (United Progressive Alliance) government had formed a cabinet just as the elections were going to be announced that they would handover the properties at the rate of Rs 1 per acre per annum. Though the court had stayed that decision, otherwise government property worth around Rs 1 lakh crore would have belonged to Waqf. So we decided it is better to seek an extension,” Pal said. (ANI)
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