The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) reviewing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Monday adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members and negated every change proposed by opposition members.
#WATCH | Delhi | JPC member on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 & BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi says, "...The entire proceeding of the committee meeting was held in a democratic manner. The chairperson allowed everybody to speak and everybody to put forth his/her point. He patiently… pic.twitter.com/WepS6Wawiz
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025
One of the significant amendments proposed by the committee was that the existing Waqf properties cannot be questioned on the grounds of 'Waqf by user', which existed in the current law but will be omitted in the new version if the properties are being used for religious purposes. The amendments moved by the NDA members in 14 of the Bill's clauses have been accepted, news agency PTI reported.
The opposition MPs decried the meeting's proceedings and accused committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal of "subverting" the democratic process. They did not allow us to speak anything. No rules and procedures have been followed... We wanted to discuss the amendments clause-by-clause but did not let us speak at all. The JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal moved the amendments and then declared them without listening to our points... This is a bad day for democracy,” TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee reportedly alleged.
VIDEO | The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, chairman Jagdambika Pal (@jagdambikapalmp after the meeting of the panel, says," Clause-by-clause meeting was held today. Opposition members had amendments over the 44 clauses. I asked… pic.twitter.com/4hLLUzXhJ1
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 27, 2025
The Waqf panel has 31 members from both Houses of Parliament. While 16 of them are from the NDA, (12 from BJP), 13 came from various opposition parties, one from YSR Congress Party, and one nominated member.
"If the amendments were moved, and there were 16 members voting against them, and only 10 in favour of them, then can those with 10 members supporting them be accepted? It is natural whether it is the Parliament or JPC,” said Jagdambika Pal told the press while explaining why the opposition's amendments were rejected.
VIDEO | After attending the JPC meeting on Waqf Bill, DMK leader A Raja (@dmk_raja) says, "When JPC was resumed today for clause by clause consideration, we raised the issue, how it can be done, in the absence of the documents which were promised, it was not supplied to us. On… pic.twitter.com/QZqcHWHWxf
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 27, 2025
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the joint committee of Parliament on August 8 following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The Bill aims to amend the Waqf Act of 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties.
