New Delhi, Jan 27: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has approved 14 amendments to the Waqf Amendment Bill, despite strong objections from Opposition parties.

The JPC Chairperson, Jagdambika Pal, stated that the amendments were accepted based on a majority vote, with 16 members supporting the changes and 10 opposing them.

"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," the JPC Chairperson said.

The Waqf Amendment bill aims to overhaul the Waqf Act of 1995, which governs the management of Waqf properties in India. The bill has been a subject of controversy, with opposition parties alleging that it undermines the rights of Muslims and the federal structure of India.

After the meeting of the JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, one of its members - BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said that the opposition members proposed amendments concerning 43 proposals of the government.

"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 added.

BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said that there was a clause-by-clause discussion in the meeting.

"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, the Opposition party members criticised the JPC's decision, alleging that they were not allowed to speak during the meeting and that the amendments were pushed through without proper discussion. The final draft report of the JPC is expected to be released on January 29.

Trinamool Congress Kalyan Banerjee said that Jagdambika Pal has destroyed 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 claimed that most of the stakeholders who took part in 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 also mentioned that clause-by-clause discussion was not even brought up in today's meeting.

"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 that the new law would ruin the 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 the JPC are that the bill originally gave the authority to the District Collector to determine whether a property is a Waqf property. However, the committee recommended a change, stating that instead of the Collector, a designated officer from the state government will make this decision.

The bill had a provision requiring at least two non-Muslim members in the State Waqf Boards and the Central Waqf Council. This provision has now been modified, meaning that two of the nominated members must be non-Muslim. (ANI)

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