New Delhi: The joint parliamentary committee examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has rejected 44 amendments made by opposition MPs and accepted 14 from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) camp, the Indian Express has reported.
This comes days after committee chairperson and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagdambika Pal was accused of running the Waqf committee in a “dictatorial manner” after he suspended 10 opposition MPs last week.
Pal on Monday said, “There was a meeting to discuss clause-by-clause consideration. All the amendments introduced by the opposition – each 44 of them were read by me with their names. I asked them if they were moving their amendments. Then they were moved. It could not have been more democratic than this.”
“If the amendments were moved, and there were 16 members voting against them, and only 10 in favour of them, then can those with 10 members supporting them be accepted? It is natural whether it is the Parliament or JPC,” Pal added.
The JPC comprises 21 members from both Houses of Parliament: 16 from the NDA, including 12 from the BJP; 13 from opposition parties, one from YSR Congress Party, and one nominated member, the paper reported.
“It was a farcical exercise. We were not heard. Pal has acted in a dictatorial manner,” PTI quoted Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee as saying.
“Today, they did everything that they had pre-decided. They did not allow us to speak anything. No rules and procedures have been followed… We wanted to discuss the amendments clause-by-clause but did not let us speak at all. The JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal moved the amendments and then declared them without listening to our points… This is a bad day for democracy,” Banerjee added.
Among one of the amendments passed by the JPC was the appointment of a commissioner or a secretary by the state government, instead of a collector, as the authority that would preside over land disputes.
Also read: When Historical and Legal Memories Meet: Understanding the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024
“There were several things which they agreed to which they had opined on. Today, an amendment was passed – earlier it was the collector who was made the authority, but now the authority will be appointed by [the] state government – whether it is commissioner or secretary,” Pal said.
Section 3C(2) of the proposed Bill sought to empower the government to decide if a property given as Waqf is government land.
“If any question arises as to whether any such property is a Government property, the same shall be referred to the Collector having jurisdiction who shall make such inquiry as he deems fit, and determine whether such property is a Government property or not and submit his report to the State Government,” the proposed Bill had said.
Pal said, “(Another amendment) was regarding the composition of the (Waqf) Board. Earlier it had two members. From the government side, it was proposed that instead of two, there should be three members, including an Islamic scholar. They (Opposition) opposed that too. There was discussion for the entry of Waqf properties on the portal to be increased from six months.”
The Bill requires that every waqf that is registered under the existing Act prior to the proposed legislation will have to file details on a central portal within six months of the commencement of the new Act.
The Bill also sought to change the composition of the Central Waqf Council and the state waqf boards, and ensure the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims. It also provides for the establishment of a separate ‘Board of Auqaf’ for Bohras and Agha Khanis.