NEW DELHI: The Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, thus setting the tone for the Bill to be tabled for discussion and passage during the Budget session of Parliament.
The Bill is likely to be taken up in Parliament during the first half of the Budget session, which begins on Friday.
The JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal met Birla at his Parliament House office and handed over the report.
The panel had adopted the report on the draft legislation by a 15-11 majority vote. However, all the Opposition members submitted dissent notes.
While the panel has adopted 14 amendments proposed by the ruling NDA members, all the amendments proposed by the Opposition were rejected. The Bill, introduced during the monsoon session of Parliament, has proposed as many as 44 amendments to the existing Waqf Act 1995.
BJP members insisted that the Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year, seeks to bring modernity, transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties.
On the other hand, the Opposition termed it an attack on the constitutional rights of the Muslim community and interference in the functioning of Waqf boards.
The JPC has endorsed the government’s move to include non-Muslims in Waqf boards, saying they can be “beneficiaries, parties to disputes, or otherwise interested in Waqf matters.” The revised bill has done away with the overarching power vested with the district collector in cases of land disputes with the government.