Waqf Bill Panel Members To Meet Stakeholders In Bhubaneswar On Monday

Bhubaneswar: Members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024—a panel that is looking into the amendments to the law—will conduct a hearing of the various stakeholders in Bhubaneswar on November 11 at a city hotel.

Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and BJP MP Jagadambika Pal, BJP MP from Jammu & Kashmir Gulam Ali Khatana, and three other members of the panel arrived at Bhubaneswar around 10.40pm on Saturday night to attend the scheduled meeting.

Sources said more MPs, who are part of the 31-member JPC, are likely to reach Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

The JPC members, who reached Bhubaneswar on Saturday, were received by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi—one of the JPC members on Waqf Amendment Bill herself—at the Biju Patnaik International Airport.

“The JPC members left for Konark early this morning. They will pay a visit to Lord Jagannath at Srimandir in Puri and then come back to Bhubaneswar to visit Lingaraj Temple. The meeting will be held at the hotel in Bhubaneswar tomorrow,” said a source, adding representatives of Odisha state government, including the Chief Secretary, representatives of several Hindu bodies like Viswa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Sabha and Muslim organization delegates are likely to attend the meeting.

Earlier, speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar, Jagadambika Pal, said the JPC members, the state government officials, High Court lawyers, Islamic scholars, minority commissions, Waqf Board officials, magistrates, farmers, judges and delegates and stakeholders would attend the meeting, in which the JPC will seek their suggestions on the proposed amendment bill. On being asked if all members of the JPC would attend the meeting or if their attendance was mandatory to fulfil the quorum, Pal said full attendance wasn’t mandatory as it was a study tour aimed at giving various stakeholders a chance to be heard. “Study tours are a means of informal discussions and there is no need for a quorum,” he added.

Aparajita Sarangi, who has also been touring with other JPC members to different states for such meetings, informed reporters about the progress of the panel’s meetings. “JPC was formed on August 9, 2024. The first meeting was held on August 22, 2024. From that day to this day, we have conducted a total of 25 sittings. We have sat for over 100 hours,” she said, adding that they have called at least 47 organisations so far. The recommendations and views are being sought over at least 44 proposed amendments to the 1995 Act.

She also added that every ideology and opinion must be respected and the JPC had followed this principle in all its meetings so far. The JPC is likely to submit its report to the Speaker during the upcoming winter session of the Parliament. It is currently on tour to Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna and Lucknow and has also visited south India.

The Waqf Act, 1995 is a law that governs the administration of religious endowments, or waqf properties, in India. The act defines the powers and responsibilities of the Waqf Council, State Waqf Boards, and Chief Executive Officer. It also outlines the duties of mutawalli (manager or superintendent of the waqf).