Waqf Bill to be introduced in LS, Oppn demands sending it to parliamentary panel

STATE TIMES NEWS

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill be sent to Parliament’s standing committee for scrutiny after it is introduced, with the government telling the Business Advisory Committee that it will take a call after assessing the sense of Lok Sabha.
The government said at the Committee’s meeting that it will not press for discussion on the Bill and its passage following its introduction in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
There is a strong possibility that the government may agree to refer the Bill, which is being opposed by some Muslim organisations, to a parliamentary panel. Sources said some parties, which have been supportive of the government’s agenda, have also expressed their reservation over the proposed legislation.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said at the meeting of the Committee, which includes members from major parties and where the government discusses its proposed agenda, that the government will take a call whether or not to send the bill for parliamentary scrutiny on Thursday, the sources said.
Congress MP Gourav Gogoi and Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhya were among the opposition members who made the demand to send the Bill to Parliament’s standing committee for scrutiny after it is introduced.
Incidentally, the department-related standing committees of Lok Sabha are yet to be constituted. The House may form a separate panel in the absence of the standing committee to scrutinise the Bill in case the government decides on such a course of action.
The Bill which seeks to amend the law governing waqf boards has proposed far-reaching changes in the present Act, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill also seeks to rename the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
The Bill was circulated among Lok Sabha members on Tuesday night ahead of its introduction.
According to its statement of objects and reasons, the Bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law relating to the powers of the Board to decide if a property is waqf property.
It provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards and ensures the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
The Bill also proposes the establishment of a separate board of Auqaf for the Bohras and Aghakhanis. The draft law provides for the representation of Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agakhanis and other backward classes among Muslim communities.