New Delhi- The contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, aimed at reforming the management and regulation of Waqf properties across the country, is now likely to be tabled during the Budget Session in February 2025, sources said.
The bill has been deferred to the next Parliament Session due to heated debates and disruptions within the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tasked with reviewing the bill.
The panel decided to seek more time at its meeting on Wednesday. The panel, led by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, was tasked to submit the report by November 29, the last day of the first week of the session.
Pal told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting that the committee was unanimous in its view as it has to listen to some other stakeholders, including six states, where there are disputes between the waqf and the state governments.
He explained, “Today we asked some questions to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. They will answer those questions. We had a few questions that the 123 properties of the Govt of India in Delhi dating back to 1911… Later the Waqf Board laid its claim on those properties. So, for clarification on that, the Ministry of Urban Development and DDA will have to be called. Similarly, Odisha, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Bihar – a total of six states – where government properties are being claimed by the Waqf. So, we told the ministry’s secretary today that we have not received a response on this… So, we will also have to call state’s chief secretaries or secretaries of Minority Affairs in states…”
The JPC has been marred by discord since its inception. According to reports, meetings have often devolved into heated exchanges between ruling BJP members and the Opposition leaders. From verbal sparring to reports of a bottle being smashed during deliberations, the JPC has struggled to maintain decorum. These conflicts have delayed key state visits and hampered progress.
The opposition members of the committee on Wednesday staged a walkout and slammed Pal, who is the joint parliamentary committee chairperson, for asserting that the panel’s draft report was ready.
Temperatures cooled down after Pal and the BJP members of the committee reached out to them, indicating their willingness to press for an extension of the committee’s deadline of November 29 to submit its report to Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, which had constituted the committee, later listed in its list of business for Thursday a motion to extend the time for the presentation of its report “upto the last day of the Budget Session 2025”.
Earlier, Pal, who is a BJP MP, said after the committee’s meeting that its members were unanimous in its view as it has to listen to some other stakeholders, including six states, where there are disputes between the waqf and the state governments.
“We feel that there is a need to extend its deadline,” Pal told reporters.
BJP MP and committee member Aparajita Sarangi said the panel will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to extend the time for submission of its report to the House upto the last day of the Budget Session of 2025.
Pal and another BJP MP Dilip Saikia will move the motion in the Lower House to this effect.
The committee is expected to visit a few states to meet different stakeholders.
Following the last meeting of the committee on November 21, Pal had said its draft report is ready. He indicated that the committee’s consultation with stakeholders is over and its members will now discuss the report and suggest changes, if any, before it is adopted.
The opposition members took strong exception to this stand in Wednesday’s meeting and soon stormed out. They claimed that Birla had assured them that its tenure will be extended.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “We haven’t received the assurance from the committee chairperson that we have received from the Speaker. The Speaker says one thing while the chairperson says another thing.
“It seems some big minister is directing the action of the chairman,” he said.
DMK MP A Raja said all the stakeholders have not been heard yet.
AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi said the committee will not be able to submit its report by November 29 if it follows the due process.
AAP member Sanjay Singh also slammed the committee’s proceedings under Pal’s leadership, while Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee called it a mockery.
However, Pal and other BJP members like Nishikant Dubey and Sarangi reached out to the opposition members.
They held an informal sitting outside the meeting’s venue to thrash things out before the opposition members agreed to be part of the formal discussion.
The committee was constituted on August 8, soon after the contentious bill was introduced in Lok Sabha.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the waqf boards and make them accountable.
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