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The Joint Parliamentary Committee has approved the Waqf Amendment Bill, which proposes 44 changes to the management of Muslim charitable properties in the country. The committee made 14 alterations to the draft bill that was presented in the House last year. A total of 66 changes were proposed, with 23 from the ruling BJP party and 44 from opposition members. However, the changes proposed by the opposition were rejected after the committee members voted along party lines, as the committee has 16 members from the BJP or allied parties and only 10 from the opposition. The final voting to confirm the 14 accepted changes will take place on January 29, and the committee's report will be submitted by January 31, with the deadline extended to February 13, the final day of the Budget Session.
The committee studying the proposed amendments had numerous hearings, but many ended in chaos as opposition members accused the chairperson of favoring the ruling party. The BJP's representative stated that the chairperson, Mr. Pal, tried to listen to everyone and provided sufficient time for members to suggest amendments. Last week, opposition MPs wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, expressing concerns that Mr. Pal was trying to quickly push through the Waqf Amendment Bill, potentially with an eye on the upcoming Delhi election. This appeal came after 10 opposition MPs were suspended, and they complained that they were not given enough time to review the suggested changes.
The suspended lawmakers included Kalyan Banerjee from Trinamool Congress and Asaduddin Owaisi from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, both of whom strongly oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill. In October, Banerjee had an outburst, smashing a glass bottle on the table and throwing it at another MP, Pal, after the latter allegedly verbally abused Banerjee's family. The Waqf Amendment Bill proposes significant changes to the management of Waqf boards, including appointing non-Muslim and female members. It also mandates the inclusion of a union minister, three MPs, two former judges, four people of national repute, and senior government officials in the central Waqf Council, none of whom need to be from the Islamic faith. Additionally, the new rules prohibit the Waqf Council from claiming land. Another proposed change is to limit donations from Muslims who have not been practicing their faith for at least five years, which has sparked controversy over the term 'practicing Muslim'. The aim is to empower Muslim women and children who were disadvantaged under the old law.
Opposition figures, such as the Congress' KC Venugopal, have claimed that the proposed legislation represents a "direct assault on religious freedom". Additionally, Mr Owaisi and the DMK's Kanimozhi have asserted that the bill infringes upon several provisions of the Constitution, including Article 15 (the right to freely choose a religion) and Article 30 (the right of minority communities to create and manage their own educational institutions).
