A meeting of Joint Committee of Parliament on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal is being held in Parliament Annexe building on Monday.
In Monday’s meeting, the committee has called representatives of the Delhi Waqf Board, Haryana Waqf Board, Punjab Waqf Board and Uttarakhand Waqf Board and Uttarakhand Waqf Board to record their Oral evidence on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Committee has also called Call for Justice (Group led by Chander Wadhwa, Trustee), Waqf Tenant Welfare Association, Delhi and Harbans Dunkall, President, Residents Welfare Association (All Blocks), B.K. Dutt Colony, New Delhi to record their views and suggestions.
The committee will also meet on October 29, 2024. In this meeting, committee will record oral evidence of the representatives of the Ministry of Minority Affairs on the ‘Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024’.
It is pertinent to note that the meeting held on October 22, 2024, committee had witnessed a heated argument between BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee.
During argument with Abhijit Gangopadhyay at the meeting, Banerjee allegedly broke a glass bottle and reportedly threw it at the panel chairman, Jagdambika Pal. These allegations have been made by members present.
It also notable that the JPC’s efforts are part of a larger national initiative to reform the Waqf Act and ensure that waqf properties are used for the greater good of the community.
The Waqf Act, 1995, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible.
