New Delhi, Jan 29 The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill will meet on Tuesday to adopt final amendments to the clauses that were discussed on Monday. The final draft report of the JPC is expected to be released today.
The JPC had on Monday approved the Waqf Amendment Bill with 14 amendments proposed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members.
Opposition MPs had submitted 44 changes which were rejected, which led to a furore by political parties.
Voting on the proposed changes will be held today.
On Monday, the Waqf Amendment Bill that is seeking to bring reforms in the way Waqf Boards are administered across the country got cleared by the JPC with a margin of 16:10 members (16 from NDA and 10 from Opposition parties).
According to reports, a total of 66 amendments were proposed in the Waqf Bill including 23 by the ruling BJP MPs and 44 from Opposition members.
JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, speaking to reporters said on Monday that it was the final meeting of the Parliamentary panel and a total of 14 amendments had been cleared on the basis of a majority.
“In the past six months of deliberations, we discussed many amendments. All amendments were put to vote today and members gave out their verdict with 16 voting in its favour while 14 opposed the amendments,” he told newsmen.
The JPC meets have witnessed chaotic scenes with the Opposition accusing the committee chairman of bias and inclination towards the ruling party.
The Opposition also claimed that the procedure was being hastened to start a narrative ahead of Assembly elections in the national Capital.
As many as 11 Opposition MPs in the JPC on Monday hit out at the ‘autocratic’ behaviour of Chairman Jagdambika Pal and his haste in accepting the 14 amendments proposed by the NDA members.
In a joint statement, the Opposition MPs said, “As the committee has arrived at its closure part of the deliberation, we the members of the Opposition registered our protest then and there both in conducting the proceedings of the JPC by the chairman as well the gross and serious deviations from the rules and procedures contemplated thereon.”
Citing several instances of being denied the time to study documents, the MPs said they want to highlight a few wilful and wanton “disregard by the Chairman in sharing the details of deliberations of the Committee.”
The allegations were however brushed aside by the BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, who said that every member was given “ample time and was heard out by the JPC chief.”
The JPC committee on the Waqf Bill had to submit its recommendations by November 29, however, the deadline was extended till February 13.
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