New Delhi: The parliamentary panel scrutinising the Waqf Amendment Bill is set to propose that the status of existing ‘Waqf by user’ properties be kept unchanged if there are no disputes over them and they are not government facilities.
The joint parliamentary committee chaired by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal on Monday adopted all amendments proposed by BJP members to the Bill and negated those by opposition MPs.
The meeting was again marked by noisy protests by opposition members, who accused Pal of “subverting” democratic process.
Opposition MPs proposed amendments in all 44 clauses of the Waqf Amendment Bill, seeking to restore the provisions of the existing law, and claimed that the law proposed by the committee in its report would maintain the bill’s “draconian” character and lead to interference in the religious affairs of Muslims, sources said.
The panel is set to adopt its report on Wednesday with MPs of Opposition parties such as Congress, Trinamool, DMK and AIMIM expected to give their dissent, the sources said. DMK MP A Raja alleged the committee’s proceedings were reduced to a “mockery” and that the “report is already ready by this time”. “DMK, myself, will move the Supreme Court to strike down the new law after it receives Parliament’s nod,” he said.
Pal rebutted the charges, and said the panel considered all the amendments in a democratic way. The view of the majority prevailed, he said, adding that the accepted amendments would make the proposed law better and more effective.
The accepted amendment proposed by BJP MP Brij Lal said the “state government may by notification designate an officer above the rank of collector” to carry out an inquiry, as per law. Several Muslim bodies had objected to the authority given to the collector.
An amendment moved by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and accepted by the panel made some allowances for existing facilities. “Waqf by user” will remain as Waqf properties, except when these are in dispute or are government facilities, it said. However, the amendment also makes it clear that properties must be registered before the new law comes into force, the sources said.
