In its first meeting, the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill met for six hours amidst objections by the Opposition MPs.
Senior officials of the law and minority affairs ministries also made presentations before the committee members explaining them the key provisions of the bill.
The primary objection by the Opposition parties is over the handing of the power to decide on properties to the district collector and taking away the rights of the states.
Reportedly, there were some sharp exchanges during the meeting as the MPs from the non-BJP parties and allies questioned the government over excessive control being exerted on boards.
The Opposition MPs are learnt to have voiced concerns over the bill in its current form. They argued that the bill was against the Muslims and not in tune with the constitutional values.
YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy stuck to his party’s official stance in opposing the bill. “This bill has many concerns of various stakeholders and is not acceptable in its current form. As a member of JPC, I would like to hear from all the stakeholders and be your voice in the committee,” said Reddy adding he would give a dissenting note to the report.
Even the NDA allies like TDP and LJP (Rajvilas) MPs called for wider discussions. The BJP members are learnt to have spoken in favour the bill. The next meeting of the JPC panel will be on August 30.
JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal assured the members that views of all the stakeholders will be heard. He said the report has to be presented on the last day of first week of the next parliament session.
The government had formed a 31-member panel to scrutinise the bill which seeks to amend the Waqf properties act.
Meanwhile, the Muslim organisations and All India Muslim Personal Law Board termed the Waqf Amendment Bill as “a heinous conspiracy to usurp and destroy the Waqf properties” in the name of protection and transparency.
“The proposed bill not only tampers with the definition of Waqf, the status of custodians and the powers of waqf boards, but for the first time in the name of increasing the number of members of the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Board, it has also made non-Muslims representation mandatory,” AIMPLB said in a release.
The AIMPLB said when it was mandatory for the management and maintenance of Hindu endowments that its members and trustees adhere to the Hindu faith - similarly, the members of the Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee must also be from the Sikh community and this discrimination and targeting Muslims is unconstitutional and illegal and calls for strong criticism.
Among other objections includes the dispute resolution delegated to the collector, while earlier the dispute had to be brought before the Waqf Tribunal within one year, after.
The new bill also gives power to the government to take over the Waqf properties if the collector so decides if the property is used by the government. It also provides for the establishment of a separate Board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis and representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani, and other backward classes among Muslim communities.