A panel led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagdambika Pal met on Thursday in Parliament to discuss the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 that has been given to the JPC for its scrutiny. The JPC meeting held on Thursday witnessed heated arguments between BJP and Opposition MPs.
The delegation that appeared before the panel in the second half of the day on Thursday and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) officials objected to certain provisions within the bill.
However, sources indicated that the highlight of the meeting was when the representatives of the Pasmanda Samaj came before the committee in support of the bill. The representatives pointed to the panel how historically they have been given a raw deal, and have never been given representation anywhere. They even went on to say that all those sympathisers who felt that Dalits were being treated unfairly, the reality was that their condition was even worse. They went on to explain as to how no development had taken place for the community in decades. While supporting the bill, they also demanded that they must be given representation of at least 50 per cent in the central council and the state board. The Samaj also asked for an audit by CAG of such properties, so that accountability can be established and transparency can be maintained. They, in fact, targeted several opposition MPs in the committee who allegedly were the voices of the Muslim community, but “delivered nothing except lip service.”
During the course of the meeting, an argument broke out between BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. The BJP MP accused the opposition MP for having spoken to her in a disrespectful manner. Those present at the meeting said that the BJP MP got extremely upset and emotional after what was said about her. After the intervention of the chairman, during lunch break, Singh apologised to the BJP MP. However, sources indicated that she has told the chair that since she was insulted during the meeting, it would only be appropriate if the apology came during the meeting.
An argument broke out between BJP MPs and the opposition camp when one of the MPs said that it was unfortunate that rumours were being spread about the bill. The Chairman also intervened and said that it was most unfortunate given the fact that hate preacher Zakir Naik also tried to create a controversy. One of the opposition MPs got intrigued by what was said and said that rumours are believed to be true about the intent of the government on the bill. The said MP also went on to say that there was an attempt to brand him along with Naik. This was effectively countered by the ruling side, and the chairman said that no mention was being made to any member in the committee.
Meanwhile, the committee has received an overwhelming response after it asked the public to write to them with the suggestions on the bill. As per official sources, as on September 18, 2024, the committee had received 91,78,419 emails. While the capacity of the inbox is maximised at 33,43,404 emails, 12,801 emails were received with attachments and 75,650 emails are in the spam folder. Sources said every time that some emails are being cleared by the team that is monitoring them, an additional 1 lakh emails are hitting the inbox.
It is learnt that given the huge and overwhelming response, the committee has requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to provide additional staff for clearing these emails and studying them to form a report. Those aware of the development said that at present, 15 members have been deployed to work on these emails alone.
Earlier on Thursday morning, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met the NDA MPs in the committee and spoke to them in detail about what needs to be highlighted about the positive aspects of the bill. The minister also advised all the NDA MPs to be present in the meeting regularly and participate in the discussions that were being held.
The panel will travel to at least 5 locations across the country to meet various stakeholders starting last week of September. This includes Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
The panel chairman, however, has said that all efforts are being made to ensure that the committee is able to submit its report by the deadline given to it, which is within the first week of the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
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