Waqf bill panel: Atishi writes to committee chairman as members engage in verbal clash again

Amidst the Opposition’s walkout from the meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to examine the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, Delhi CM Atishi has written to Committee chairman Jagdambika Pal that the representation made the Delhi Wakf Board us without the approval of the Delhi government and thus, is “null and void”.

In a letter to Pal, sent on Monday, CM Atishi said that a report has been submitted by Ashwini Kumar, who is the administrator of the Delhi Waqf Board, before the JPC without the approval of the government of Delhi. “...therefore (it) maybe treated as ab initio null and void. Any presentation on the same maybe cancelled till a report is submitted with the approval of the Government of NCT of Delhi,” the chief minister’s letter stated.

Several Opposition members also staged a walkout over the matter. These include AAP MP Sanjay Singh, DMK MP Mohammed Abdulla, Congress MPs Naseer Hussain and Mohamed Jawed.

On Monday, the Committee was supposed to record the views and oral representations of the Waqf Boards of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on the legislation. In addition to that, representations were also invited from Call for Justice (Group led by Chander Wadhwa, Trustee), Delhi’s Waqf Tenant Welfare Association as well as Harbans Dunkall, President of the Residents Welfare Association of Delhi’s BK Dutt Colony.

The Uttarakhand Waqf Board has asked the JPC to allow soldiers of the Indian Army the right to claim Waqf properties. The Board’s rationale was that since the soldiers fight for the country and are willing to give up their life for it, they should be allowed to do so. In response, several Opposition MPs asked if Hindu religious places will also come under the purview of the same rationale.

The meetings of the JPC have seen several run-ins between the Opposition MPs and NDA members. Earlier this month, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended after he broke a glass bottle. Soon after, in another meeting, when Chairperson Jagdambika Pal announced a five-city tour, Opposition MPs protested saying that the tour was scheduled right in the midst of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections.