Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 chairperson Jagdambika Pal said that a meeting of the committee would be held in Delhi on November 21. After that, the committee would present its report in the ensuing Winter Session of the Parliament.
Pal said, that although several stakeholders met, and some leaders. Including Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, have been up in arms against the Waqf Amendment Bill. Khan and others have said that they would not allow the bill to sail through. In response, Pal called upon such leaders to give up this politics of appeasement and to strive for national integration. He asked such elements to appear before the committee and air their views.
On October 31, the Lok Sabha Secretariat announced that the Joint Committee would undertake a study tour to five cities to scrutinize the bill in question further. It visited Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna, and Lucknow between November 9 and November 14. The study tour aimed to assess how the Waqf Amendment Bill would impact communities and Waqf properties in those cities.
In fact, Joint Secretary JM Baisakh stated in one letter that the study visit helped the Committee understand the potential outcomes of the bill. The visit thus played a crucial role in the legislative review and showed the Committee’s commitment to a thorough examination. In detail the proposed reforms in the Waqf Act relating to the management and regulation of Waqf properties in India.
The JPC has held as many as 25 meetings since August 22, 2024. These involved the panel scrutinizing the input from six ministries and listening to 123 stakeholders. Representatives of six states, eight Waqf boards, and four minority commissions. The committee seems to have toiled hard to ensure that the Waqf Amendment Bill serves the best interests of all communities concerned.
The JPC will present the report on the bill during the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament, which begins on November 25 and runs until December 20. The JPC’s work contributes to a larger national effort to reform the Waqf Act. Ensuring that Waqf properties are used effectively for the benefit of the community.
In other words, the JPC was proceeding with a review of the Waqf Amendment Bill. And would present its findings and recommendations before the Winter Session.
ANI