As the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) of the Waqf (amendment) Bill is set to hold the last round of meetings on January 24- 25, Opposition parties on Tuesday sought more time and urged the panel to postpone the meetings till the end of this month, according to sources.
The members of the panel were informed through an official communication on Monday late evening that the committee will begin clause-by-clause discussion on the proposed amendments in two sittings on January 24 - 25.
The members have also been asked to submit notices of the various amendments to the legislation by January 22. Sources familiar with the development said that after the draft report is submitted to Parliament, the Centre is keen to table the bill in the upcoming budget session in view of the Delhi assembly election on February 5 and Bihar polls later this year.
The first half of the Budget session is scheduled from January 31- February 13. The contentious bill was referred to the joint Parliamentary committee led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal in August last year.
However, sources said that the Opposition members, during Tuesday’s meeting in Lucknow, conveyed to the panel chairman about their inability to submit the amendments on such short notice and demanded that the meeting be postponed to January 30 – 31.
“The Committee held deliberations in Lucknow on Tuesday as part of a study tour to three cities. How can the panel expect the members to submit the amendments on Wednesday? Since the final meetings are scheduled for 24th, the members have only 48 hours to study the proposed amendments,” said a source adding that the panel chairman assured the members that he would look into their concerns.
The Opposition also urged the panel chairman to submit the report during the second half of the Budget session which begins on March 10 and concludes on April 4.
Another source said that according to law, the members should be given 15 days to register dissent notes. “It is a hurried move by the panel to table the report in view of the Delhi elections. The panel is yet to finish consultations with many stakeholders and still has a lot of pending work,” he said.
According to informed sources, the government has reached out to its allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal United JD (U) over the proposed legislation.
Several Muslim groups in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have been opposing most of the amendments in the legislation including the appointment of non-Muslims as members of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards. According to a JD (U) leader, some Muslim outfits recently met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to discuss the Bill.
Speaking to the media in Lucknow, panel chairman Pal said that it was the last meeting of the JPC. “We have already visited several states. This is the final leg of the tour, and after this, we will present the JPC report in the budget session. The Government of India has proposed 44 amendments, and we have given time until tomorrow for our members to provide their final views on them," he said.
The panel has held 34 meetings in Delhi and consulted Waqf Board representatives from more than 12 states. During the recent winter session of Parliament, the committee got an extension to submit its report up to the last day of the upcoming budget session.