Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 31: National Conference leader and J&K MLA Tanvir Sadiq has criticised the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, raising concerns over the exclusion of minority perspectives and the bill's implications for property management. Speaking on the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report, Sadiq highlighted that the reservation for minorities had not been properly addressed.
"The reservations for the minorities have not been taken into consideration. 11 members of parliament have given the dissent note," Sadiq said, emphasising concerns regarding the bill's provisions. He questioned the introduction of Waqf-by-User, which he argued could cause problems with over 400,000 properties.
He raised alarm over the potential control the government could have over properties in future. "The way they are doing it on properties, tomorrow the collector can decide which property will be Waqf and which will not be..." he stated.
Sadiq reiterated his concerns about the lack of minority representation in the bill. "The reservation of the minority should have been taken on board," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP and Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) member Dr Syed Naseer Hussain on Thursday raised concern over the JPC's handling of the Waqf Bill and accused it of being "biased" and not adhering to procedural norms.
Hussain criticised the lack of a clause-by-clause discussion among JPC members before amendments were proposed, which he argued would have ensured a more comprehensive review. He also pointed out that the final report was sent just one day before its adoption, leaving insufficient time to properly analyse the over 600-page document.
Speaking to ANI, Syed Naseer Hussain said, "The real issues related to Waqf were not discussed in the way the JPC was working. The procedures were not followed before submitting the report. We wanted clause-by-clause discussion between JPC members and then amendments should have been introduced after consensus was reached. However, the clause-by-clause discussion did not take place."
"The report was also sent to just a day before its adoption. How can we read an over 600-page report overnight and make an analysis out of it? So the JPC was working in a very biased manner," he added.
Several Opposition members of the panel submitted dissent notes to be incorporated in the report, which will be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming Budget session.
These Opposition MPs included the Congress party's Gaurav Gogoi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi besides the members who submitted joint dissent notes such as Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque of the TMC, A Raja and M M Abdulla of the DMK, and Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood of Congress.
The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill.
The meeting between members of the JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla concluded and the final report on the bill was submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker on January 30.