No Waqf Bill in Winter session, joint committee to seek term extension to consult more stakeholders

The bill to amend the Waqf Act is unlikely to be taken up in the iciness session of Parliament, with the joint committee set up to have a check out it set to seeking an extension to present its report.

Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman Jagdambika Pal said on Wednesday that he's going to move a resolution for extending the term of the panel, which is examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Opposition members have been in search of an extension of the term of the joint committee to hearken to more stakeholders.

Jagdambika Pal said opposition members should now no longer boycott the complaints of the committee over their demands.

“In these three months, we had 29 meetings, greater than 147 delegations came… We have given opportunity to the total organisations. That’s the mandate the JPC had… In the event that they (opposition MPs) think that we deserve to listen to some more people – the way wherein shouldn’t be boycotting the meeting… I've listened to what the total members had to claim, including Sanjay Singh, Kalyan Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi… I've an opinion that I may tomorrow move a resolution in the House for the extension of the tenure of JPC,” Jagdambika Pal said.

Jagdambika Pal and BJP MP Dilip Saikia would move the motion to make bigger time for the presentation of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 up to the last day of the Budget Session, 2025.

Opposition MPs on Wednesday walked out of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting, citing concerns that the committee had left many state boards unheard.

Jagdambika Pal earlier said that some members had spoken concerning the necessity to invite other stakeholders and the term of the panel has to be extended.
“This day, Nishikant Dubey and other members raised that we deserve to invite and hear some other stakeholders, state officials…So, we feel that we should extension…I may have faith this after which we can bring a resolution previous to Lok Sabha tomorrow or the day after,” he said.

“This day in the meeting, we posed questions to Ministry of Minority Affairs. They will answer those questions. We had some questions that there are 123 properties of Govt of India in Delhi dating back to 1911…Later the Waqf Board laid its claim on those properties. So, for clarification on that Ministry of Urban Development and DDA will deserve to be often called. Similarly, Odisha, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Bihar – a complete of 6 states – where government properties are being claimed by the Waqf. So, we asked the Ministry’s Secretary lately that now we have got got now no longer received the response on this…So, we deserve to call State’s Chief Secretaries or Secretaries of Minority Affairs in states,” he added.

Aparajita Sarangi said there became uproar relating the chance of submission of the report.

“The Opposition members staged a walkout and tons of of the ruling birthday celebration members went out of the room to request them to return and subscribe to the deliberations. This day, we had a hearing of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and there were extensive deliberations on greater than some amendments proposed in the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. The uproar normally sprang from their request regarding the submission of the report. So, there became many of debate regarding this,” she said.
Sarangi said ruling birthday celebration members also felt that there has to be some kind of extension.

“So, I think a while is definitely required so it became unanimously resolved that the committee will be soliciting for the Lok Sabha Speaker for the extension in the date of the submission of the report by the committee up to the end of Budget Session of 2025,” she said.

Speaking to the media after leaving the meeting, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said many stakeholders give their views.

“The mandate is that the report has to be given on the twenty ninth (of November). How do we give it? There is a procedure that deserve to be followed, which has now no longer been done. Most significantly, this committee hasn’t visited Bihar or West Bengal. There are a lot of stakeholders we be heard. Why is that this committee now no longer allowing the total stakeholders to participate?”
Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh stated that any submission of report previous to hearing all stakeholders may possibly be inappropriate.

“Until the report is finalised, all stakeholders are heard, and the JPC tour is finished, submitting a draft report is inaccurate. The Speaker had assured us that he would extend the JPC’s timeline… Yet, side-lining all these issues, you claim the draft report is prepared for submission. The Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh governments have now no longer been heard,” Singh said.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said some important stakeholders have now no longer been often called.

“The elemental issue is that this: only those related to or with regards to the BJP were brought in, and days have been wasted. States with the biggest Waqf properties, including Delhi, were now no longer often called. People have died in Sambhal over Waqf property issues, yet they are in truth no longer taking these matters seriously,” he said.