As the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 adopted its report by a majority Wednesday, several Opposition members of the panel submitted dissent notes to be incorporated in the report, which will be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming Budget session.
These Opposition MPs include the Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi besides the members who submitted joint dissent notes, such as Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque of the TMC, A Raja and M M Abdulla of the DMK, and Syed Naseer Hussain, Dr Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood of the Congress.
The Indian Express has learnt that in his dissent note Owaisi has alleged that the BJP-led NDA government has brought the Waqf amendment Bill with the objective of weakening the foundations of the Waqf governance and undermining the rights of Muslims in the country. He has sought the removal of all 44 clauses brought by the government to amend the Waqf Act 1995, maintaining that he was opposed to the Bill for the sake of justice, equality and constitutional values.
Flagging the deposition of organisations such as the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti before the panel, Owaisi charged that these outfits advocated for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra through “unlawful means”.
Owaisi also raised questions on the Waqf Bill proposing to delete Section 107 of the 1995 law that had made the Limitation Act 1963 inapplicable to Waqf properties, it is learnt. He said that because of this deletion, “encroachers” who have unlawfully possessed waqf property for more than 12 years, would be able to claim its title by adverse possession.
In their joint note, Congress MPs Naseer Hussain, Jawed and Masood pointed to “procedural lapses” in the Committee’s functioning, it is learnt. They said the Bill is driven by political agenda and not by a genuine concern for management of the Waqf properties. The Congress members said that Waqf is a religious act under Islam and that it has been protected by our Constitution’s Articles 25 and 26. They also stated that the proposed Waqf Bill would lead to litigation, encroachment and loss of autonomy over Waqf institutions while hurting the constitutional rights of Muslims in the country.
The TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque jointly stated, it is learnt, that the minutes of the panel’s meetings were not provided to the Opposition members whose submissions, they charged, were also not recorded. They alleged that the minutes were recorded based on the Committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal’s dictation which, they claimed, did not present the true picture of the panel’s meetings.
Story continues below this ad
In their joint note, the DMK’s Raja and Abdulla alleged that the panel’s report was “unconstitutional” and could ruin the secular fabric of the country. They also charged that the committee’s proceedings were held in an undemocratic manner.
The panel adopted by a 15-11 majority its report that contained 14 changes suggested by the BJP members and its NDA allies. These amendments to the Bill were adopted Monday by the panel, which rejected all 44 amendments proposed by the Opposition, it is learnt.
Five members who were absent from voting included Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), Dileshwar Kamait (JD-U), Veerendra Heggade (nominated), Suresh Mhatre (NCP-SP) and the YSRCP’s Vijaysai Reddy (resigned).
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd