Opposition members suspended from panel on Waqf Bill

Ten opposition members attending the joint committee of Parliament meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill were suspended on Friday as they accused its chairperson of reducing its proceedings to a "farce", while the committee readies to adopt its draft report next week.

The appearance of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a moderate Hurriyat leader who is also the religious head of Muslims in Kashmir, before the panel to voice his disapproval of the proposed law was the highlight of the meeting but not before opposition members' noisy protests drowned its proceedings till their suspension.

Opposition MPs alleged that Jagdambika Pal, the committee's chairman, was steamrolling the agenda at the government's behest with an eye on the February 5 Delhi polls.

They later wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to ask Pal to postpone the January 27 meeting and consult other members on the next date and agenda.

Pal accused opposition members, especially the Trinamool Congress' Kalyan Banerjee, of hurling abuses and insults at him in their bid to scuttle the proceedings.

They broke all boundaries, he said.

The suspension was for Friday and opposition MPs can attend the next meeting.

The January 27 meeting is set to consider the Bill clause by clause before finalising the report.

Opposition MPs have sought more time to allow them to frame their views after studying the views of stakeholders.

These members, including Banerjee, DMK's A Raja, Congress' Naseer Hussain, and BJP MPs traded allegations, with the former insisting that they protested in a civilised manner after not getting a response from Pal.

BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi termed the conduct of Banerjee, often the most vocal opposition member, as "disgusting" and said opposition members created a ruckus as part of a design to sabotage the meeting.

Banerjee said Pal informed them on January 21, when the committee members were in Lucknow meeting stakeholders, that the next meetings would be held on January 24-25. Raja wrote on behalf of opposition MPs, requesting the chairman to schedule the meeting after January 30 or 31 but in vain.

He said the agenda of Friday's meeting was changed late on Thursday and intimated to members close to midnight.

"The chairman is treating opposition members as domestic helps and ordering them around," Banerjee said.

He said Pal received several phone calls in the meeting and alleged that he was taking orders from senior government members.

Slamming his critics, Pal said he was steering the committee in the most democratic manner and allowed every opposition MP to register their view whenever they wanted.

It was the 35th meeting on Friday, he added.

The seasoned BJP MP claimed that opposition members were spreading propaganda against the Bill's proposals in a similar way they allegedly stoked fears over the implication of the abrogation of Article 370 and instant triple talaq.

Pal added that he adjourned the meeting twice so as to restore order and was forced to suspend them on a motion moved by BJP member Nishikant Dubey due to their "ruckus".

The suspended members were Banerjee and Nadeem-ul Haque (Trinamool Congress), Mohammad Jawed, Imran Masood and Hussain (Congress), Raja and Mohamed Abdullah (DMK), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Mohibullah (Samajwadi Party) and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT).

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

Official sources said the committee might adopt its final report on January 29.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the joint committee of Parliament on August 8 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.

The committee was first tasked with submitting its report in the Winter Session but its tenure was extended till the end of upcoming Budget Session, which begins from January 31.

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.

There is already an atmosphere of tension in Jammu and Kashmir when there is talk of mosques and temples, he claimed.

"We believe no step should be taken that vitiates the atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir," the Mirwaiz said.

This is the first time that the Mirwaiz, who also heads the virtually defunct separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference, has stepped out of the Kashmir valley post abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.