Waqf Amendment Bill Cleared By JPC

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- A Joint Parliamentary Committee on Monday cleared the Waqf Amendment Bill – which seeks to make 44 changes to the way Muslim charitable properties are managed in the country – with 14 alterations to the draft tabled in the House in August last year. Overall 66 had been proposed – 23 by MPs from the ruling BJP and 44 from opposition members – to the committee led by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal.

However, changes proposed by the opposition were rejected after committee members voted on party lines; the JPC has 16 MPs from the BJP or allied parties and only 10 from the opposition.

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Voting to confirm acceptance of the 14 changes will take place January 29, and the final report will be submitted by January 31, sources said. The committee had originally been asked to file the report by November 29 but that deadline was extended to February 13, the final day of the Budget Session.

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44 amendments were discussed. In detailed discussions (spread) over six months, we sought amendments from all members. This was our final meeting... 14 were accepted by the committee on the basis of a majority (vote). Opposition also suggested amendments... each was put to a vote. There were 10 votes supporting theirs (suggested amendments) and 16 votes opposing it...” Pal said.

44 amendments were discussed. In detailed discussions (spread) over six months, we sought amendments from all members. This was our final meeting... 14 were accepted by the committee on the basis of a majority (vote). Opposition also suggested amendments... each was put to a vote. There were 10 votes supporting theirs (suggested amendments) and 16 votes opposing it...” Pal said.

Read Also Waqf Bill Passed: Opposition Calls It 'Farcical Exercise' Waqf Panel Accepts Ruling Alliance's Amendments In 14 Clauses, Rejects Opposition-Sponsored Changes

Last week opposition MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to voice their concerns, saying Pal was trying to“steamroll” the Waqf Amendment Bill through, with one eye on the Feb 5 Delhi election.

The appeal came after 10 opposition MPs were suspended; they, and their colleagues, complained that they were not being given time to study the suggested changes.

The suspended MPs included the Trinamool Congress' Kalyan Banerjee and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen boss Asaduddin Owaisi, both of whom are fierce critics of the Waqf Amendment Bill.

In October, for example, Banerjee had a 'Hulk' moment, smashing a glass bottle on the table and throwing it at Pal. He later explained his actions, saying another BJP MP, ex-Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay flung verbal abuses at his family and provoked that strong reaction.

The Waqf Amendment Bill proposes numerous changes to the way Waqf boards are administered, including nominating non-Muslim and (at least two) women members.

Also, the central Waqf Council must (if the amendments are passed) include a union minister and three MPs, as also two ex-judges, four people of 'national repute', and senior government officials, none of whom need be from the Islamic faith.

Further, under the new rules the Waqf Council can't claim land.

The Waqf Amendment Bill proposes numerous changes to the way Waqf boards are administered, including nominating non-Muslim and (at least two) wombien members.

Also, the central Waqf Council must (if the amendments are passed) include a union minister and three MPs, as also two ex-judges, four people of 'national repute', and senior government officials, none of whom need be from the Islamic faith.

Further, under the new rules the Waqf Council can't claim land.

Owaisi and the DMK's Kanimozhi, meanwhile, have argued it violates multiple sections of the Constitution, including Article 15 (the right to practice a religion of one's choice) and Article 30 (the right to minority communities to establish and administer their educational institutions).

Rules On 2 Non Muslim Members Among Changes

A joint parliamentary committee has voted in favour of 14 alterations to the draft version of the Waqf Amendment Bill, which had been tabled in the Lok Sabha in August last year and seeks to make 44 contentious changes to the way Muslim charitable properties are managed in the country.

The 14 alterations include distinguishing between the mandatory two non-Muslim members – as specified in the original draft of the bill – and nominated ex-officio members (Muslim or non-Muslim).

This means waqf councils, whether at state or pan-India levels, will have at least two, and possibly more (if the nominated ex-officio members are also not Muslim) members not from the Islamic faith.

Another key change is directing an officer nominated by the concerned state to determine if a property is 'waqf'. In the original draft this decision was left to the District Collector.

A third change is establishing that the law will not apply retrospectively, so long as the property in question is already registered. To this point, Congress leader and JPC member Imran Masood raised a red flag, noting an estimated 90 per cent of waqf properties are not, in fact, registered.

These changes, and the 11 others, were proposed by members from the ruling BJP, including Lok Sabha MPs Nishikant Dubey, Tejasvi Surya and Aparajita Srangi.

Among the other 11 is a change – put forward by Mr Surya – specifying that anybody wishing to donate land must“show or demonstrate that she/he is practicing Islam for at least five years” and also acknowledge“...there is no contrivance involved in the dedication of such property”.

Overall, MPs from the ruling party and those allied to it made 23 proposals to alter the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. MPs from the opposition made 44 proposals, none of which were accepted.

But the opposition's proposals were rejected by a 10:16 vote after committee members voted on party lines; the JPC has 16 MPs from the BJP or allied parties and only 10 from the opposition.

Voting to confirm acceptance of the 14 changes will take place January 29, and the final report will be submitted by January 31, sources said.

The 1995 Wakf Act was passed to regulate 'auqaf' (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a 'wakif' (the person who dedicates the property). The legislation was last amended in 2013.

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