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The women supported the government’s intent to bring the bill to ensure justice for women and the backward in the Muslim community
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8. (Representational image/Getty)
At the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) meet for Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 in Parliament on Monday, among those who made an appearance was a group from the Muslim intellectual women’s cell, which included several academicians.
Deposing before the panel and making the presentation, the women supported the government’s intent to bring the bill to ensure justice for women and the backward in the Muslim community.
The women wanted to understand from the Waqf board what they had done for the cause of orphans and widows, despite the claims of empowering the Muslim community.
They also questioned the inaction of previous governments in addressing the land mafia, which was trying to grab Waqf lands. These lands were available to the rich and famous, even though the board’s aim was to ensure the welfare of the backward and weaker sections of Muslim society.
This is the first group of women representatives who appeared before the panel. They lauded the government’s effort to make women’s representation mandatory in the central council and the state boards.
Members of the opposition, in the last couple of weeks, have written to the Lok Sabha speaker, seeking action against committee chairman Jagdambika Paul for being unable to conduct the meetings in a free and fair manner.
It has also been learnt that the members of the opposition will meet the Lok Sabha Speaker again on Tuesday, demanding his intervention in the way meetings were conducted. This time they wanted to raise the issue of the committee asking people who were not stakeholders to depose, the opposition MPs have alleged.
THE LETTER
An excerpt of the letter that is going to be written to the Lok Sabha Speaker read: “It may not be out of context to mention here that more than 100 amendments are made in the newly drafted Bill 2024 as against the claim of only 44 amendments by the government. Out of these amendments, we are reasonably confined to express our fear that the religious, spiritual and moral fabrics of a legal Institution i.e. Waqf board is going to be erased which will tarnish our country’s image in the eye of the world community on minority rights guaranteed in our Constitution. For aforesaid reasons, the sittings of the Committee must be decided in such a manner with adequate time to discuss and deliberate the every clause of the Bill including the legislative competency of the Parliament.”
It further reads: “It is respectfully submitted that the Chairman of the Committee used to take unilateral decisions on fixing the dates of sittings even for consecutive three days where Persons/Bodies to be called as witness, which is not practically possible for MPs to interact with preparation. We the Members of the JPC from opposition feel that the constitution of JPC, i.e, a mini Parliament should not be treated as a mere ventilating chamber to get the Bill passed as desired by the Government ignoring the Parliamentary process by using the so called “majority” undemocratically. Hence, it is our duty to bring to your notice with pain that bulldozing the proceedings of the JPC without assigning reasonable and plausible time pause as against the will of the Members is nothing but an act of atrocious onslaught on the Constitutional religion and the Parliament.”
The letter signed by opposition MPs states, “It is therefore prayed that the Chairman of the JPC may kindly be directed to have a formal consultation with members of the Committee before taking decisions on these issues to assure the Nation that the Committee is fair and free in arriving conclusions on the Bill without any bias and departure from the well established Parliamentary procedures. Otherwise, we humbly submit that we may be forced to disassociate with JPC once for all as we have been stone walled.”
The meeting will be held again on Tuesday, during which multiple parties will depose. The Bohra community will be represented by lawyer Harish Salve. Next week, the committee will be out on a six-day tour across five states to interact with nine state boards.
So far, 22 meetings have taken place since the bill was first referred to the JPC in August 2022. The committee is expected to submit its report to Parliament in the first week of the upcoming winter session. The Centre has already expressed its intent to pass the bill in the upcoming session.
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