AAP leader Sanjay Singh and other opposition MPs after boycotting the meeting of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to examine the Waqf Amendment Bill, which was set to meet for the final time on Thursday, saw protests from Opposition members who demanded that the committee's tenure be extended before the report is submitted. They have now sought time with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament.
The report, which was due on November 29, is ready, Committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal told reporters after the meeting. He added that over a course of five days, the ministry of minority affairs went over the 44 amendments of the contentious bill “clause by clause” with “detailed explanations”.
“The ministry met the committee today; it also met us for 6 hours 15 minutes on November 22, 6 hours 15 mins on October 15, 7 hours on October 21, and 3 hours and 15 mins on October 29 – in five sittings they met us for more than 29 hours,” Pal said, adding that the presentations of the ministry had over 800 slides, and with clarifications, it was a 1000.
Pal also said that the Committee had over 25 sittings, and met several stakeholders in various states too – including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Assam, etc.
During the meeting of the JPC, after Pal announced that Thursday’s meeting will be the last, several Opposition members protested, saying that they will approach Birla.
The Opposition MPs have previously complained to Birla against Pal’s “unilateral” decisions, and threatened to disassociate from the JPC if he were to continue “bulldozing” the mandate of the Committee.
Opposition members have also complained that some of the stakeholders called for meetings by Pal were not connected to the legislation or to Waqf Boards. Several members have also complained that, contrary to the government’s claims, there were more than 100 amendments made in the newly drafted Bill 2024, and not just 44 amendments, as stated by it. The Committees meetings have been acrimonious and it has seen several fights erupt between MPs of the Opposition and the treasury benches, with Opposition MPs walking out several times.