Parliament Waqf panel accepts NDA MPs’ amendments, rejects Opposition’s changes

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) reviewing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, accepted all amendments suggested by the ruling BJP-led NDA members on Monday, while dismissing every modification proposed by opposition members during a clause-by-clause debate.

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who chaired the Parliamentary panel, announced that the amendments proposed by NDA members in 14 sections of the Bill have been approved. Some of these amendments permit the appointment of state government officials alongside district magistrates for specific positions and raise the number of Waqf tribunal members from two to three.

In today’s clause-by-clause voting, 16 MPs from the ruling party supported the amendments, while 10 members of the opposition opposed them. The amendments proposed by the opposition, covering all 44 clauses of the Bill, were rejected by the identical 10:16 majority.

The JPC stated that the draft report is set to be distributed by January 28 and will be formally approved on January 29. Opposition MPs condemned the conduct of the meeting and alleged that Pal was “subverting” democracy. Pal denied these accusations, asserting that the whole process was democratic and that the majority opinion was upheld.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was presented in the Lok Sabha on August 8 by Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs. Originally anticipated to be presented in the Winter Session, it was assigned to the JPC for thorough analysis.