Opposition members meet Speaker, seek ‘reasonable’ extension to Waqf panel

In a letter to the Speaker, the Opposition members wrote that the committee, which held its first meeting on August 22, has had only 25 sittings so far, including those where presentations were made by “various irrelevant” organisations and individuals.

Various state governments, including Bihar, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, are yet to present their views before the committee and various stakeholder are still seeking time to present their views, the members wrote.

“It must be noted that the Waqf Amendment Bill is an expansive legislation that involves many major changes to the existing law. These changes will affect a large section of India’s population. Therefore, a mere three months’ time before the report is finalised is not only inadequate but may result in improper recommendations. In order for proper consultation and deliberation, the committee’s tenure must be extended by a reasonable time,” the letter read.

The Opposition members said that if Bills are discussed without giving a substantive opportunity to people to present their views, it will affect the legitimacy of the legislative process. “This will unfortunately have an adverse impact on the majesty of Parliament,” they wrote.

The Centre referred Waqf (Amendment) Bill to JPC following the Opposition’s objections. It tasked the panel to submit a report by the end of the first week of the winter session, which started on Monday and will continue till December 20.

The committee comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha and includes 13 Opposition members (nine from the Lower House and four from the Upper House).

The Bill proposes to radically alter the Waqf Act, 1995 with provisions such as empowering the district collector, instead of the Waqf Tribunal, to decide disputes and including non-Muslims in the Waqf boards, drawing criticism from the Opposition.

The letter to the Speaker is signed by MPs, including AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, DMK’s A Raja, SP’s Mohibbullah and Congress’s Mohammad Jawed.

Sources in the BJP said the Waqf committee chairman has already prepared a schedule, after giving enough time to the Opposition MPs to raise questions, seek clarifications and make amendments, to submit the report by December 5.

The BJP appears to be keen on pushing the controversial Bill in the ongoing Parliament session itself. However, a senior party leader said: “If the speaker wants to give more time to the opposition, let it happen.” According to the BJP leaders, the panel tenure can be extended by a few days, instead of three months as sought by the Opposition.

Speaking at the party headquarters on Saturday, PM Modi had accused the Congress of “appeasement politics” and said the party made the law concerning Waqf Board that has no mandate in the Constitution.