NEW DELHI, 29 January (H.S.): The Joint Committee

of Parliament examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday accepted its

draft report and the amended version of the proposed law with a majority vote.

MPs have been given time till 4 pm to register their disagreement. A meeting of

the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) was held on Wednesday on the Waqf

Amendment Bill 2024. Meanwhile, the report on Waqf Amendment Bill has been

passed by 14 to 11 votes. At the same time, the members of the parliamentary

committee have been given time till 4 pm today to present their disagreement.

Opposition parties have submitted their dissent notes in the committee.

Tomorrow the report will be submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. JPC

Chairman Jagdambika Pal said on Wednesday that the committee has accepted the

Waqf (Amendment) Bill draft report and the revised version of the proposed law

with a majority vote. Pal said that 14 members voted in favor of it, while 11

opposed it.

The bill

was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Kiren Rijiju.

Ahead of the meeting,

several opposition MPs met to discuss their agenda as many of them were

preparing their dissent note against the committee's recommendations. The Waqf

(Amendment) Bill 2024 was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on

August 8, 2024 after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority

Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Waqf Act

1995, so as to solve the problems and challenges faced in regulating and

managing Waqf properties.

Opposition

MPs make many allegations

On the JPC meeting,

Congress MP Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain said, “Many objections and suggestions were

made which have not been included in this report. The government has prepared

the report as per its own. Unconstitutional amendments have been brought and

the rights of minorities have been harmed. The amendments have been brought to

target minorities, especially the Muslim community”. Congress MP Dr Mohammad

Javed said, “When an elected leader starts considering himself a ruler, he

starts taking such decisions in his ego”. The Shiv Sena-UBT MP said, “We have

given dissent notes because he has made such amendments which are against the

Constitution. All opposition parties are giving dissent notes”. DMK MP A Raja

said, “The draft report has been adopted in a hurry. We received the draft

report by 9.50 last night, how can the Chairman expect that we will submit the

dissent note overnight”. AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, “We have presented our views

before the JPC chairman which is part of the draft report and cannot be

discussed in the media”.

Hindusthan Samachar / Meenakshi Bhattacharya