AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday accused Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Waqf Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), of misusing his powers to “wrongly black out” several factual issues from the dissent note. Owaisi claimed that this was done without informing the concerned parties and led to significant points being omitted.
Addressing the media, Owaisi stressed the importance of Waqf properties, describing them as sacred and significant for the Muslim community. He expressed concerns that the government was attempting to deprive Muslims of these assets. “Our dissent note was comprehensive, covering numerous factual issues, but the Chairman improperly blacked them out by misusing his powers. He did not inform us beforehand. We have since written a letter requesting the inclusion of these points,” Owaisi stated.
Owaisi further explained that the ruling party passed amendments based on its majority, while their own amendments failed due to a lack of sufficient numbers. “The Waqf Board was established to oversee properties that our ancestors donated in the name of Allah. Now, the government is appointing non-Muslim members and removing elections from the State Waqf Boards, replacing them with nominated members,” he added.
He criticized the amendments proposed by the government in the JPC report, claiming they would ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Waqf Board. “When Hindus cannot have non-Hindus in endowment boards, why should non-Muslims be allowed in this case? This clearly shows that the government’s aim is to seize Waqf properties, including mosques, dargahs, and graveyards,” Owaisi asserted.
Earlier on Monday, Opposition MPs Kalyan Banerjee (Lok Sabha) and Md. Nadimul Haque (Rajya Sabha) had strongly protested the removal of key portions from their dissent notes, which they had submitted to the JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The MPs alleged that their objections were deleted arbitrarily, without any prior notice or explanation.
In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the MPs expressed their dismay, stating, “To our surprise and disappointment, we found that our objections and dissent notes were deleted by the Chairman without informing us or obtaining our consent,” as per their letter dated February 3, 2025.