Members of Parliament's Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill pose for a photograph at a break during their meeting, at Parliament House Annexe, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The second meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Board Bill took place on Friday. Sources said the Opposition members staged a walkout after an exchange with ruling party MPs.
The committee also invited suggestions and recommendations from the general public.
On Friday, representatives of the All India Sunni Jamiyatul Ulama (Mumbai), the Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (Delhi), the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqf appeared before the committee to submit their representations on the Bill.
Before the meeting, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who is the chairperson of the committee, told reporters that when the committee was formed, they had intended to invite representatives from Waqf Boards. “We had agreed to call as many Waqf boards of the country as possible, we will also call those who are part of our minority organisations. The government holds the view that a better piece of legislation should be made,” he said.
During the meeting, some heated exchanges took place where AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused the government of ignoring the Constitution.
Congress MP Naseer Hussain, who is part of the committee, said a lot of misinformation needs to be cleared up surrounding Waqf properties. “A lot of misgivings about the Waqf Board have been spread to malign the image of the Muslim community. This whole bill is based on misinformation. The government is saying that Waqf Boards are the second largest property-holders in India. However, the Waqf Board cannot hold any property. They can only be the custodians,” he told reporters.
The 31-member committee was formed earlier this month after the introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 led to protests from the Opposition as well as from some of the BJP’s allies.