Amidst the huge uproar, all the opposition MPs who were part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill have been suspended from Friday's meeting.
The suspended MPs include Mohammad Javed, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader A Raja, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chiefs Asaduddin Owaisi and Nasir Hussain, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohibullah. Nadvi, M. Abdullah, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haq and Congress's Imran Masood is included.
Referring to the incidents inside the JPC meeting, Banerjee said, “What is going on is an undeclared emergency.” He said that after reaching Delhi for the meeting, the topic and date of the meeting were changed. The TMC MP accused the government of acting “in a hurry” due to the upcoming assembly elections in the national capital, which are scheduled to be held on February 5.
“We had the tour till January 21. After the visit, he had given notice in the night that the meeting would be held on 24th and 25th January. At the same time, A Raja and others requested the Speaker to adjourn the meeting till January 30, 31. They refused to listen to us. Suddenly, we got a notice that the revision was to be given by 4:00 pm on January 22,” he said.
He said, “It was decided that there would be a section-by-section discussion. When we reached here last night, they changed the subject and scheduled the meeting for January 27. We requested several times that it is not possible to hold the meeting on 27th. What is going on is an undeclared emergency. This is politically motivated. They are in a hurry because of the (Assembly) elections in Delhi. They don't respect the opposition.” Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey accused the opposition of creating a “ruckus” during the JPC meeting, saying their conduct was against parliamentary democracy. He told that the next meeting will be held on January 27 and the proposal will be submitted to the Speaker on January 29.
“The opposition, especially Asaduddin Owaisi, said that the representatives of Jammu and Kashmir were not listened to and that is why we invited Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. On the suggestion of the opposition, the Speaker adjourned the meeting for clause-by-clause discussion. The opposition created a ruckus in front of Mirwaiz and this is against parliamentary democracy. Now the meeting will be held on January 27, a note of dissent will be presented on January 28 and we will submit the proposal to the Speaker on January 29,” Dubey told ANI.
Earlier, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema on Friday expressed hope that the decision on Waqf issue will not be taken in haste, due to which the Muslims of the country feel helpless. He said that the issue of Waqf Board remains important because it is related to the future of Muslims. He said he has prepared a memorandum and plans to discuss his concerns in a phased manner.
J.P.C. Jagdambika Pal, President, said on Friday that a meeting has been scheduled on January 29 for the final adoption of these sections, which will be discussed in detail on January 27. He had said that J.P.C. The members were to hear suggestions from the delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is to submit its report during the budget session. The tenure of the committee was extended during the winter session of Parliament.
The Waqf Act 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticized for issues such as mismanagement, corruption and encroachment.
The budget session of Parliament will begin on January 31 and continue till April 4, while the Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitalisation, better audit, better transparency and a legal mechanism to take back illegally occupied properties.
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