New Delhi: After a walkout by Opposition members, chairman of the parliamentary committee, examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal on Wednesday said that panel was unanimous on extending its tenure to address unresolved issues.
“We have posed questions to Ministry of Minority Affairs. There were queries on 123 properties of the government in Delhi dating back to 1911, on which the Waqf Board later laid its claim. Ministry of Urban Development and DDA will have to be called for a clarification on these properties. We still have to invite and listen to other stakeholders and state officials from six states where there are disputes between Waqf and state governments,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Committee member and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi confirmed that the panel would request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to extend the deadline for submitting its report to the last day of the Budget Session, which is likely to be held in February 2025. “”There was quite an uproar in the Waqf meeting today. The Opposition members staged a walkout and many of the ruling party members went out of the room to request them to come and join the deliberations. Today, we had a hearing of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and there were extensive deliberations on various amendments proposed in the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. The uproar basically sprang from their request regarding the submission of the report. So, there was a lot of debate regarding this. The ruling party members also felt that there should be some kind of extension…So, I think some time is definitely required so it was unanimously resolved that the committee would request the Speaker of Lok Sabha to extend the date of the submission of the report up to the end of Budget Session of 2025,” she told ANI.
Wednesday’s meeting had a rocky start as Opposition members stormed out alleging that its proceedings had become a mockery after JPC chairperson’s announcement to table the draft report in the Lok Sabha on November 29. AAP MP and JPC member Sanjay Singh said that submitting a draft report before all stakeholders are heard and the JPC tour is complete is “wrong”.
TMC MP and JPC member Kalyan Banerjee later came out shouting, “Dispute resolved, all is well”, after the second round of the panel. He, however, avoided further questions.
The Bill is aimed at reforming the management and regulation of Waqf properties across the country.