Waqf amendments rushed through … BJP saw it was losing Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha whip Mohammad Jawed

How do you see the committee’s proceedings so far?

A farce, an eyewash. It’s a big joke on the people of India. That is all I will say.

The Opposition’s 44 proposed amendments were not accepted. What were the suggestions?

The whole system was unparliamentary. The norms and formalities as per written procedure weren’t followed. You (referring to panel Chairman, BJP’s Jagdambika Pal) called us abruptly (for Monday’s meeting, when the amendments were approved). The most important thing is that the Chairman is saying 36 meetings were held. In these meetings, almost 90 per cent of the people who came to depose opposed almost all the amendments. The 5-10 per cent who agreed with the changes had nothing to do with Waqf. They also included Waqf land encroachers.

The most upsetting thing is that they have spread the misconception among masses that anyone can claim any piece of land as Waqf and it is declared a Waqf property. This is a blatant lie. Those who came to depose before the committee were asked questions, and a majority of them couldn’t reply in writing. These answers should have been shared with members, which didn’t happen.

This month, there were study tours in Lucknow, Kolkata and Patna. We met several stakeholders in these states and asked them questions. They weren’t given time to send their answers and suddenly voting was done on the amendments.

You are suggesting that after the study tour to these three cities, there was a rush to push the NDA members’ amendments. Why do you think it was done?

It is unfortunate that the people of this country have elected a prime minister who only has an eye on elections. He has no concern for the country’s functioning. They saw that they were losing the Delhi elections, and hence, rushed the process for electoral gains in Delhi. The extension granted to us by the Speaker (Om Birla) was until the last week of the Budget Session.

This is an attack on the social fabric of the country. This is an attack on the safeguards given to minorities by the Constitution, and we will go to the Supreme Court… and we are preparing for that too.

If the Bill is passed in Parliament, what will the Opposition’s next step be?

What happened yesterday… Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV) and TDP. These parties claim to be pro-minorities and win with votes from minorities. They mislead people by saying they will oppose the Bill. But they have supported the Government on the Bill and when it is tabled in Parliament, then the country will see the truth.

The parties you have named above are NDA allies and had raised questions on the Bill when it was introduced in August. What do you think happened that they and the BJP are now on the same page?

I can’t say for sure. But maybe they were threatened by agencies like ED, etc. Or maybe they don’t do what they say.

Is the Opposition preparing to approach the courts if the Bill is passed?

The kind of legislation they are trying to pass, it will result in tension in all areas. This will not be confined to the Muslim community but eventually similar things will happen with Christian, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities as well as the majority community.