Waqf (amendment) Bill: Stakeholders appear before joint panel, Opp walks out briefly

Parliamentary committee proceedings are privileged and details of exchanges between members during meetings are not made public.

The committee had on Friday invited Muslim organisations and Waqf Board representatives who have been opposing any changes to the Waqf Act of 1995.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament following strong objections from the Opposition and the BJP-led government’s own allies favouring a detailed discussion on the proposed changes.

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who heads the  Joint Committee, said it heard oral evidence from stakeholders. In his post on X, Pal said the stakeholders included All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulama Mumbai, Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (IMCR), Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Boards and Rajasthan Muslim Waqf.

BJP allies JD (U), LJP (Ram Vilas) and TDP have so far taken a “neutral” stand and at least two of these parties want concerns expressed by Muslim organisations to be addressed.

A clause in the proposed Bill which gives the District Collector the power to adjudicate in disputes related to Waqf properties has been opposed by the Opposition on the grounds that the District Collector is a representative of the government and is appointed by it and will never rule against the government in which it is a party.

The issue of the proposed Bill cancelling the provision in the existing Act on “Waqf by user” has also had the Opposition questioning how Waqf deeds for centuries and decades old Waqf properties will be produced now.

According to the Opposition, the proposed Bill, by omitting the provisions relating to “Waqf by user,” makes a Waqf property suspect in the absence of a valid Waqfnama.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday also invited suggestions on the Bill. It said “memoranda containing views/suggestions from the public in general and NGOs/experts/stakeholders and institutions in particular” are invited.

The Secretariat said those “desirous of submitting written memoranda/suggestions to the Committee may send two copies thereof either in English or in Hindi to the Lok Sabha Joint Secretary (JM).”

“The memoranda/suggestions submitted to the Committee would form part of the records of the Committee and would be treated as ‘confidential’ and enjoy privileges of the Committee,” the Secretariat said in a statement.

“Those who are desirous of appearing before the Committee, besides submitting memoranda, are requested to specifically indicate so. However, the Committee’s decision in this regard shall be final,” it stated.