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Journalism of Courage
As the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 adopted its report by a majority, several Opposition members of the panel submitted dissent notes to be incorporated in the report, which will be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming Budget session.
These Opposition MPs include the Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi besides the members who submitted joint dissent notes such as Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque of the TMC, A Raja and M M Abdulla of the DMK, and Syed Naseer Hussain, Dr Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood of the Congress.
In his dissent note, Owaisi has alleged that the NDA government has brought the Waqf amendment Bill with the objective of weakening the foundations of Waqf governance and undermining the rights of Muslims in the country. He has sought the removal of all 44 clauses brought by the government to amend the Waqf Act 1995, maintaining that he was opposed to the Bill for the sake of justice, equality and constitutional values.
It is learnt that Owaisi has also flagged the deposition before the panel by organisations such as the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti that have called for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra.
Owaisi has also raised questions on the Waqf Bill proposing to delete Section 107 of the 1995 law that had made the Limitation Act 1963 inapplicable to Waqf properties. In his view, this deletion will allow a person who has unlawfully possessed Waqf property for more than 12 years to claim its title by adverse possession.
In their joint note, Congress MPs Naseer Hussain, Jawed and Masood have cited what they felt were procedural lapses in the Committee’s functioning. They are of the view that the Bill is driven by political agenda and not by a genuine concern for management of the Waqf properties. The proposed Waqf Bill, they maintain, will lead to litigation, encroachment and loss of autonomy over Waqf institutions while hurting the constitutional rights of Muslims in the country.
It is learnt that TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque have pointed out that the minutes of the panel’s meetings were not provided to the Opposition members, and that their submissions were also not recorded.
In their joint note, DMK’s Raja and Abdulla have called the panel’s report unconstitutional, claiming that it could ruin the secular fabric of the country.
Following a 15-11 vote, the panel adopted its report containing 14 changes suggested by BJP members and NDA allies. The panel, it is learnt, rejected all 44 amendments proposed by the Opposition.
Five members who were absent from voting were Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), Dileshwar Kamait (JD-U), Veerendra Heggade (nominated), Suresh Mhatre (NCP-SP) and YSRCP’s Vijaysai Reddy (resigned).
