National Desk
28 October
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
Today, opposition Members of Parliament briefly walked out of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, alleging partiality. The meeting, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, included discussions on proposed changes to the Waqf Bill. Opposition MPs claimed that the report presented by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner and Delhi Waqf Board CEO Ashwini Kumar had been significantly altered without proper consultation, alleging that the Delhi Chief Minister’s approval was bypassed.
After raising their concerns, the opposition MPs returned to continue participating in the discussions. The JPC had also invited representatives from various Waqf Boards, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, to share their views. Additionally, organizations like Call for Justice, the Waqf Tenants Welfare Association of Delhi, and representatives from BK Dutt Colony were asked to submit feedback on the bill.
The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for October 29, where it will consult with the Ministry of Minorities’ representatives on the bill. Notably, an earlier session on October 22 saw a heated exchange between BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee over the bill’s provisions.