Opposition members suspended for a day from JPC on Waqf Bill

Ten Opposition members attending the joint Parliamentary committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill were suspended for a day on Friday amid protests and accusations against chairman Jagdambika Pal of steamrolling the proceedings.

According to an X post by Congress MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, the 10 have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, "protesting against the brazenly undemocratic manner in which the JPC on the Waqf Amendment Bill is being made to function. 2 more Opposition MPs who could not attend today's meeting have associated themselves with the letter".

An excerpt from the letter reads: "…rushing the proceedings of the JPC (on Waqf Bill) without application of the mind by the Chairman is nothing but a riddle wrapped with hidden malice. It is our opinion that the Chairman of a JPC does not have the power to suspend the members of the Committee.”

Earlier, while Opposition members accused Pal of reducing the proceedings to a farce and alleged that he was acting on the government's directions, the chairman slammed their conduct aimed at disrupting the meeting, accusing Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee of hurling abuse at him and saying he strove to bring the meeting to order, adjourning it twice but in vain.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey moved the motion to suspend the Opposition members, which was adopted by the committee. The suspended members are Banerjee and Nadeem-ul Haque (TMC), Mohammad Jawed, Imran Masood and Syed Naseer Hussain (Congress), A. Raja and Mohamed Abdullah (DMK), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Mohibullah (SP) and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT).

The suspension of the Opposition members came on a day when a delegation from Jammu and Kashmir led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmir, appeared before the joint committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill to share their concerns about the draft legislation.

The meeting of the committee began on a stormy note, with Opposition members accusing the chairman of steamrolling the proceedings and changing the agenda of the meeting at will. The 10 Opposition members were suspended as protests and unruly scenes continued at the meeting, which had re-convened after a brief adjournment.

“After our meeting on 21 January, the chairman informed the members that the next meeting would be held on 24-25 January. Opposition members protested and A. Raja also wrote a letter requesting to schedule the meeting after 30 or 31 January. But the chairman did not listen to us,” Banerjee said.

He added that the agenda of Friday’s meeting was changed late on Thursday night and intimated to members close to midnight. “The chairman is treating Opposition members like domestic help and ordering them around,” Banerjee said, and alleged that the proceedings were being rushed through with an eye on the Delhi assembly elections scheduled for 5 February.

The TMC leader said Pal received several phone calls as the meeting was in progress and alleged that he was taking orders from the government on the conduct of the proceedings. However, BJP member Aparajita Sarangi claimed the conduct of Opposition members was "disgusting" as they were continuously creating a ruckus during the meeting and using unparliamentary language against Pal.

Official sources said the committee will be adopting its final report on 29 January.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 was referred to the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on 8 August 2024 following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju. The Bill aims to amend the Waqf Act 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing waqf properties.

Ahead of appearing before the committee, the Mirwaiz told reporters that he strongly opposed the bill and favoured non-interference by the government in matters of religion. "We hope our suggestions would be heard and acted upon and no such step would be taken that would make Muslims feel that they are being disempowered," he said.

"The issue of waqf is a very serious matter, especially for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as it is a Muslim-majority state. Many people have concerns regarding this, and we have prepared a detailed memorandum addressing these concerns point by point. We want the government to refrain from interfering in waqf matters," the Mirwaiz said.

He claimed there was already an atmosphere of tension in Jammu and Kashmir when there is talk of mosques and temples. "We believe no step should be taken that vitiates the atmosphere in J-K," the Mirwaiz said.

Earlier, the Mirwaiz was slated to meet Pal at his residence. This is for the first time that the Mirwaiz, who also heads the virtually defunct separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference, has stepped out of the Kashmir Valley post the abrogation of Article 370, granting special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

With PTI inputs