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JPC on Waqf Bill gets extension till budget session

Opposition members have been seeking an extension of the term of the joint committee to listen to more stakeholders…reports Asian Lite News

The bill to amend the Waqf Act is unlikely to be taken up in the winter session of Parliament, with the joint committee set up to examine it set to seek an extension to present its report.

Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman Jagdambika Pal said on Wednesday that he will move a resolution for extending the term of the panel, which is examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Opposition members have been seeking an extension of the term of the joint committee to listen to more stakeholders.

Jagdambika Pal said opposition members should not boycott the proceedings of the committee over their demands.

“In these three months, we had 29 meetings, more than 147 delegations came… We have given opportunity to all the organisations. That’s the mandate the JPC had… If they (opposition MPs) think that we need to hear some more people – the way shouldn’t be boycotting the meeting… I have listened to what all the members had to say, including Sanjay Singh, Kalyan Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi… I have an opinion that I will tomorrow move a resolution in the House for the extension of the tenure of JPC,” Jagdambika Pal said.

Jagdambika Pal and BJP MP Dilip Saikia would move the motion to extend time for the presentation of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 up to the last day of the Budget Session, 2025.

Opposition MPs on Wednesday walked out of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting, citing concerns that the committee had left many state boards unheard.

Jagdambika Pal earlier said that some members had spoken about the need to invite other stakeholders and the term of the panel should be extended.

“Today, Nishikant Dubey and other members raised that we have to invite and hear some other stakeholders, state officials…So, we feel that we should extension…I will consider this and then we will bring a resolution before Lok Sabha tomorrow or the day after,” he said.

“Today in the meeting, we posed questions to Ministry of Minority Affairs. They will answer those questions. We had a few questions that there are 123 properties of Govt of India in Delhi dating back to 1911…Later the Waqf Board laid its claim on those properties. So, for clarification on that Ministry of Urban Development and DDA will have to be called. Similarly, Odisha, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Bihar – a total of 6 states – where government properties are being claimed by the Waqf. So, we asked the Ministry’s Secretary today that we have not received the response on this…So, we will also have to call State’s Chief Secretaries or Secretaries of Minority Affairs in states,” he added.

Aparajita Sarangi said there was uproar concerning the possibility of submission of the report.

“The Opposition members staged a walkout and many of the ruling party members went out of the room to request them to come and join the deliberations. Today, we had a hearing of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and there were extensive deliberations on various amendments proposed in the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. The uproar basically sprang from their request regarding the submission of the report. So, there was a lot of debate regarding this,” she said.

Sarangi said ruling party members also felt that there should be some kind of extension.

“So, I think some time is definitely required so it was unanimously resolved that the committee would be requesting the Lok Sabha Speaker for the extension in the date of the submission of the report by the committee up to the end of Budget Session of 2025,” she said.

Speaking to the media after leaving the meeting, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said many stakeholders want to give their views.

“The mandate is that the report should be given on the 29th (of November). How can we give it? There is a procedure that must be followed, which has not been done. Most importantly, this committee hasn’t visited Bihar or West Bengal. There are many stakeholders we want to be heard. Why is this committee not allowing all the stakeholders to participate?”

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh stated that any submission of report before hearing all stakeholders will be inappropriate.

“Until the report is finalised, all stakeholders are heard, and the JPC tour is completed, submitting a draft report is wrong. The Speaker had assured us that he would extend the JPC’s timeline… Yet, side-lining all these issues, you claim the draft report is ready for submission. The Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh governments have not been heard,” Singh said.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said some important stakeholders have not been called.

“The fundamental issue is this: only those associated with or close to the BJP were brought in, and days have been wasted. States with the largest Waqf properties, including Delhi, were not called. People have died in Sambhal over Waqf property issues, yet they are not taking these matters seriously,” he said.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the procedure was biased.

“We raised two important questions: the assurances given by the Speaker (Lok Sabha) are not being fulfilled by the (JPC) chairman. There seems to be no balance between the government and the Speaker. I believe some senior Union minister is directing the chairman (of the JPC). Secondly, the process is incomplete. The chairman claims the report is ready, but we do not wish to be part of a biased procedure,” Gogoi said.

YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy also called for consultation with more stakeholders.

“Before the agenda item was taken up for consideration, a significant number of members, particularly non-BJP members, requested the chairman (JPC) to extend the stipulated timeline. By the 29th (of November), the JPC will not be in a position to complete the proceedings. Many state Waqf boards and stakeholders have not been given the opportunity to present their views,” Reddy said.

Jagdambika Pal had said earlier this month that the report was ready, and they would hold clause-by-clause discussions on it.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to introduce sweeping reforms, including digitisation, stricter audits, greater transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.

The Waqf bill was on the agenda of the government in the winter session. The panel, constituted in last session, was tasked to give its report by the last day of the first week of this session. (ANI)

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India Govt Succumbs To Oppn Attack On Waqf Bill

Bill referred to a joint parliamentary committee after Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced it in the Lok Sabha, amid strong objections from the Opposition parties…reports Asian Lite News

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Thursday after Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced it in the Lok Sabha, amid strong objections from the Opposition parties, alleging that the Bill was aimed at targeting the Muslim community.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a two-hour long debate at the time of introduction, following which it was decided that the Bill would be sent to a JPC. Speaker Om Birla informed the House that he would constitute the joint panel after consulting the leaders of all the parties.

Opposition parties called the proposed amendments to the Waqf law “an attack on the Constitution, interfering with religious matters and against the spirit of federalism”. Leading the charge, senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal called it a “draconian” Bill and alleged that it was brought with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Defending the Bill, Rijiju said that it merely sought to implement reforms suggested by committees that were set up by the previous Congress government and neither were any rights being snatched nor was religious freedom being curtailed.

“Because you [Congress] couldn’t do it, we had to bring these amendments… Some people have captured Waqf Boards and this Bill has been brought to give justice to ordinary Muslims,”the Minister said, adding that many leaders in the Opposition had privately told him that State Waqf Boards had turned into a mafia.

Though BJP allies such as the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Shiv Sena (Shinde) supported the Bill on the grounds of transparency and reform, sources said some of them had reservations. TDP MP G.M. Harish Balayogi said his party did not have a problem if the Bill was sent to a select committee to “remove misconceptions”.

JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, however, argued that the Opposition was mixing up the issue of institutions such as Waqf Boards with a place of worship, such as a mosque.

The introduction of the Bill also witnessed a spat between Home Minister Amit Shah and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav after Yadav claimed that the government was proposing to curtail the powers of the Speaker but the Opposition would fight for the Chair.

“This is an insult to the Chair. The rights of the Speaker do not belong to the Opposition, but to the whole House. Akhilesh ji is tarah ki golmol ki baat aap nahi kar sakte [Akhilesh ji you can’t speak in a roundabout way]. You are not the protector of the Speaker’s rights,” Shah retorted.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to make far-reaching changes to the 1995 law that governs Waqf Boards. The Bill proposes the inclusion of two Muslim women and two non-Muslim members on a Board, and inserts a new Section to prevent the wrongful declaration of a property as “Waqf”. It also introduces the District Collector as an arbiter to decide if a property is a Waqf or government land. In the 1995 Act, such decisions are made by the Waqf tribunal.

“This Bill is an attack on the faith and freedom of religion. You are going for Muslims, next you will go for Christians, Jains, Parsis,” Venugopal alleged.

Akhilesh Yadav argued that the the Bill was being introduced to appease the BJP’s hardcore supporters. “What is the point of including non-Muslims in Waqf Boards when this is not done in other religious bodies?” he asked.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi said, “Will it possible for a Muslim or a Christian to be part of a Board which manages a Hindu temple? No. Then why should somebody who doesn’t believe in a particular religion have the right to make decisions on behalf of that religion?”

Opposing the Bill on the ground that it targets a particular minority, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule said, “Look at what is happening in Bangladesh, there is so much pain. It is the moral duty of a country to protect minorities.”

Arguing that the Bill is an attack the basic structure of the Constitution as it “violates” the principle of judicial independence and separation of powers, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said,“You are enemies of Muslims and this Bill is evidence of that.”

Hitting back, Rijiju argued said the Modi government had been forced to “undertake reforms” because the Congress did not do so. He cited cases such as an entire village in Tamil Nadu being declared Waqf land to underline the need for reforms in the law.

He added that there was no provision to challenge or review the order of the Waqf tribunal but now that was being changed to allow appeals to higher courts. “In our country, no law can be a super law and that can’t be above the Constitution. However, in the 1995 Waqf Act, there are provisions that are above the provisions in the Constitution. Shouldn’t that be changed?” he asked.

In the Lok Sabha, Rijiju had also introduced a Bill to repeal the “Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923” to repeal a colonial-era legislation that was no longer in force for effective management of Waqf property in modern India.

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