The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has cleared 14 amendments to the Waqf Amendment Bill despite opposition from the Opposition parties.
JPC Chairperson Jagdambika Pal said 44 amendments were discussed clause by clause. "44 amendments were discussed clause by clause. After detailed discussions over 6 months, we sought amendments from all members. This was our final meeting... So, 14 amendments have been accepted by the committee based on a majority. Opposition too had suggested amendments. We moved every one of those amendments & it was put to vote but 10 votes were supporting theirs (suggested amendments) and 16 votes opposing it," she said.
The Waqf Amendment bill seeks to overhaul the Waqf Act of 1995 which governs Waqf properties in India. The bill has been controversial with opposition parties saying it undermines the rights of Muslims and the federal structure of India.
After the JPC meeting on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 one of its members BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said opposition members moved amendments on 43 government proposals.
"JPC on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was held today in a very democratic manner. The Chairperson's Jagdambika Pal tried to hear everybody out and gave sufficient time for everybody to move the amendment that everybody wished. There are 44 amendments to the Principal Act 1995 that had been proposed by the government and had been tabled before all of us to deliberate upon. 34 sittings have already taken place for deliberating on the entire matter. 108 hours have been dedicated to this job. More than 284 stakeholders have been consulted and their views have been given due importance," Sarangi said.
"As far as today's meeting is concerned, let me tell you that against these 44 amendments, the Opposition part MPs had proposed amendments concerning 43 proposals of the govt. As far as NDA MPs are concerned, they have moved 24 proposals. Every proposal moved either by the Opposition or the Ruling Party was put to debate and voting was done by raising of hand. The voting was mostly 10:16. There were 10 members and we were 16...Today also they started creating a ruckus and the entire Opposition team was led by Kalyan Banerjee...This particular Bill has been deliberated upon very extensively, very thoroughly. This committee had also gone to a couple of states to hear the organisations which have not been able to come to Delhi. So, I think the entire procedure has been done in a very democratic manner," the BJP MP said.
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said it was clause by clause discussion.
"Discussion took place on all clauses, and those who opposed did so, while those who supported also voiced their opinion. It is unfortunate that even on the clauses that were crucial for improving this bill, opposition was raised," he said.
However, Opposition party members are upset, saying they were not allowed to speak and the amendments were pushed through without discussion. The final JPC report is expected to be tabled on January 29.
Trinamool Congress Kalyan Banerjee said Jagdambika Pal has killed democracy.
"Today, they did whatever they had fixed. They didn't allow us to speak. No rules or procedures have been followed. Initially, we had asked for documents, representations and comments. All those things have not been supplied to us. They started clause-by clause discussion. We said, first let's discuss. Jagdambika Pal did not allow discussion at all. He then brought in the Amendment Motion. We were not all allowed to speak in the Amendment Motion. He moved, counted and declared. All Amendments have been passed. Our Amendments have been rejected and theirs have been allowed. This was a farce proceeding. This is a black day of democracy...Jagdambika Pal is the greatest blacklister of democracy. He is a man who has destroyed democracy," he said.
Congress MP Naseer Hussain said most of the stakeholders who attended the JPC meetings have opposed the bill.
"95-98% of stakeholders opposed this bill in the JPC meeting. There was no clause-by-clause discussion," he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Mohibullah said, "This has been a joke with the country. The way the procedure was concluded in the meeting, seems like a mockery. This will not be beneficial for Waqf."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said there was no clause by clause discussion even today.
"The amendments we proposed were put to a vote directly. You should have explained why we proposed the amendments. There was no discussion. On the 29th, the draft report will come and then we will also submit a dissent note," Sawant said.
Congress MP Imran Masood said the new law will destroy Waqf completely.
"The Chairman bulldozed everything and ended the meeting in 1.5 hours. History will not forgive those who supported this with the ruling party. This new law will completely ruin Waqf. It is an attempt to seize Waqf's properties," he said.
The major changes in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill approved by JPC are that the bill originally gave the power to the District Collector to decide whether a property is a Waqf property. But the committee recommended to change it to a designated officer of the state government.
The bill had a provision of having at least two non-Muslim members in the State Waqf Boards and Central Waqf Council. This provision has been modified to two of the nominated members to be non-Muslim.
