Synopsis
Ten opposition MPs were suspended from a Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill after a ruckus. Despite this, committee chairman Jagdambika Pal expressed optimism about delivering a beneficial report during the budget session. The bill aims to address issues like mismanagement and corruption in Waqf properties.
ANIAs many as 10 opposition members were suspended from a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, following a ruckus on Friday.
The suspended Opposition MPs included Kalyan Banerjee, Md. Jawaid, A Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Nasir Hussain, Mohibullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haq, Imran Masood.
The next sitting of the JPC has been scheduled for January 27, starting from 11:00 in the morning, where the committee members will meet and discuss the clauses one by one.
After holding a meeting on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Jagdambika Pal, Chairman of the JPC had stated that it will be the last meeting of the JPC and after this, they will present its report in the Parliament during the budget session, scheduled for January 31.
“The JPC is a committee with members from different parties. All discussions have taken place in a good environment. I am hopeful that we will provide a report that will benefit the people in the coming days. In the last six months, we have held 34 meetings in Delhi alone. I thank all the MPs who attended all these meetings. I believe it will be a very good report, and based on it, a good law will be made to ensure that Waqf properties are used for their intended purposes,” Pal said.
Meanwhile, DMK Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, A Raja, on behalf of the Opposition, had requested the Chairman of the JPC on the Waqf Amendment Bill to postpone the proposed meetings scheduled for January 24 and 25.
In his letter to Jagdamika Pal, Raja had said, “It is needless to say that the tour programmes of the JPC to meet the stakeholders at Patna, Kolkata and Lucknow were completed only on January 21 and the members were dispersed from the tour programme to their constituency to continue their scheduled programmes earlier.”
“Strangely, the next dates for the sitting of JPC were hurriedly announced without any formal discussion when the JPC was already on tour,” he had mentioned.
JPC to submit report in budget session
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is to submit its report during the budget session. The term of the committee was extended during the winter session of Parliament.
The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.
Notably, the budget session of Parliament will commence on January 31 and continue till April 4, with the union budget to be presented on February 1.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
