Ensure fair proceedings: Suspended MPs to Lok Sabha Speaker after Waqf bill panel meet row
New Delhi/IBNS: Opposition members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill who were suspended for a day on Friday for protesting and accusing Chairman Jagdambika Pal of steamrolling the proceedings, have written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking fair conduction of proceedings.
"As we all felt humiliated, we stood and raised our voice democratically to hear our demands. Meanwhile, the Chairman spoke in phone with somebody and suddenly and surprisingly, he ordered our suspension with shouting," the suspended MPs said in the letter to the Speaker.
"... The Amendments proposed in the Bill are not only connected with the huge land banks of the Waqf Boards across the country, but also relevant to the judicial pronouncements of the High Courts/Supreme Court thereon," they said.
"Statues and rules enacted by various state governments in this regard are also in challenge whereby conflict of interest has arisen thereto. Hence, a comprehensive study is essentially needed by the JPC to address these issues raised by the stakeholders in a holistic manner. In these circumstances, rushing the proceedings of the JPC without application of the mind by the Chairman is nothing but a riddle wrapped with hidden malice," the MPs wrote.
The JPC on Waqf Amendment Bill has become a tool for the government to seize properties donated by Muslims for the welfare of the financially weak—used to build schools, hospitals, madrasas, mosques, mazars, and kabristans.
— Dr Md Jawaid (@DrMdJawaid1) January 24, 2025
Their goal is clear: to take over these lands and… pic.twitter.com/xAe8A84crO
The suspended members of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) include Kalyan Banerjee, Mohammad Jawed, A Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Naseer Hussain, Mohibullah, Mohamed Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadeem-ul Haque, and Imran Masood.
The suspension comes on a day when a delegation from Jammu and Kashmir led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmir, appeared before the joint committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill to share their concerns about the draft legislation.
Defending the suspension, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said the conduct of Opposition members was "disgusting" as they were continuously creating a ruckus during the meeting and using unparliamentary language.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the JPC on August 8, 2024, following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The bill is aimed to amend the Waqf Act, of 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties.
