NEW DELHI: The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Monday ran into rough weather after several Opposition MPs staged a walkout protesting the presentation made by the Delhi Waqf Board.
Opposition members claimed that the Delhi Waqf Board administrator, who had appeared before the panel, altered the presentation without the knowledge of the Delhi government.
Later, Chief Minister Atishi wrote to JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, saying that the report of the Delhi Waqf Board administrator, IAS Ashwini Kumar, must be treated as “null and void.” The report was submitted without the government’s approval, she said. “Any (such) presentation may be cancelled till a report is submitted with the approval of the government of NCT Delhi,” the letter stated.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh, DMK’s Mohammed Abdulla, Congress’ Naseer Hussain, and Mohamed Jawed, among others, walked out of the meet.
The panel had called representatives of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand Waqf boards to record their oral evidence on the bill on Monday.
Last year, a row erupted over the housing and urban affairs ministry’s takeover of 123 properties from the Delhi Waqf Board. However, the Delhi Waqf Board challenged the order in the high court.
The Waqf Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha this August. The JPC is holding meetings to gather inputs from officials, legal experts, Waqf board members and community representatives.