Waqf Amendment Bill: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the Waqf Amendment Bill. Out of 31 members, 21 MPs are from Lok Sabha, while rest 10 are from Rajya Sabha. Notably, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP Imran Masood have also been included in the committee. This comes a day after, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday introduced The Waqf (Amendment) Bill and proposed sending it to a joint parliamentary committee after Opposition parties objected to its provision.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has put forward the names of 21 MPs from Lok Sabha to form the JPC to deliberate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. also called upon the Rajya Sabha to recommend the names of 10 of its Members to be appointed to the committee. The establishment of the JPC will allow for a thorough examination of the bill's provisions, enabling MPs from both houses to contribute to refining the legislation. The committee is expected to engage with various stakeholders, gather opinions, and make recommendations that will help shape the final version of the bill before it is presented for a vote in Parliament.
List of 21 Lok Sabha MPs in JPC
- Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM)
- Imran Masood (Congress)
- Nishikant Dubey (BJP)
- Tejasvi Surya (BJP)
- Aparajita Sarangi (BJP)
- Jagdambika Pal (BJP)
- Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP)
- Dilip Saikia (BJP)
- Abhijit Gangopadhyay (BJP)
- DK Aruna (BJP)
- Gaurav Gogoi (Congress)
- Mohammad Jawed (Congress)
- Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi (SP)
- Kalyan Banerjee (AITC)
- A Raja (DMK)
- Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP)
- Dileshwar Kamait (JDU)
- Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT)
- Suresh Gopinath Mhatre (NCP-Sharad Pawar)
- Naresh Ganpat Mhaske (Shiv Sena)
- Arun Bharti (LJP-RV)
Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024
It should be noted here that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Waqf Act provides for the renaming of the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995. The bill was circulated among Lok Sabha members on Tuesday night (August 6) ahead of its introduction. Soon after Rijiju sought leave to introduce the bill, many opposition MPs, who had given notices to oppose the bill, alleged that the proposed legislation was an "attack on the Constitution and federalism". Responding to the concerns flagged by opposition members, Rijiju said there will be no interference with freedom of any religious body in the Waqf bill.
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