NEW DELHI: As the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is set to hold its first meeting on August 22, the largest ally of the NDA government, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday said that it has begun consultations with all communities, including Muslims, about their views and concerns on the contentious legislation.
Speaking to this newspaper, TDP Parliamentary party leader and JPC member Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said that the party will take the views of the minority and other communities and place it before the 31-member JPC.
“We will listen to all viewpoints and present them before the party first. Then it will be placed before the JPC. Everyone has to be on the same page on the bill,” he added.
The TDP was in a tight spot after Muslim minority leaders of the party raised objections to at least 40 sections of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes sweeping changes in the Waqf Act 1995. Asked about objections raised by Muslim leaders, Devarayalu said, “All voices will be taken into consideration”.
He said that the government was not consulted prior to the introduction of the Bill in Lok Sabha. “Like all other MPs, we also received the bill a day before it was tabled in the House,” he said.
Muslim bodies have expressed concern about various proposals, including the dilution of the Waqf tribunal and the move to induct two non-Muslims into the state Waqf board. The leaders have demanded wider consultations with bodies such as the Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Tablighi Jamaat and Deoband among others.
Facing staunch opposition from INDIA bloc parties, the government referred the Waqf Bill to a joint parliamentary panel for further scrutiny after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha. During the first meeting of the JPC, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is expected to brief the panel about the proposed legislation.
Speaking to this paper, the second largest ally of NDA, JD (U) MP Dileshwar Kamait said, “We are part of the government and our MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh has supported the bill in the house,” he said dismissing reports of rift in JD(U) over the Bill.
Congress MP and JPC member Gaurav Gogoi said that he wants to compare the proposed amendments with the recommendations by K. Rahman Khan-led JPCs on Waqf Boards.
TDP in tight spot
The TDP was in a tight spot after Muslim minority leaders of the party raised objections to at least 40 sections of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes sweeping changes in the Waqf Act 1995. Asked about objections raised by Muslim leaders, Devarayalu said, “All voices will be taken into consideration”.