Waqf JPC seeks time till 2025 Budget Session, motion in LS today

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): A motion will be moved in the Lok Sabha on Thursday seeking an extension in the tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The extension is being sought till the last day of the Budget Session, 2025. The Business List of the Upper House mentions "motion regarding the report of JPC on the Waqf (Amendment Bill, 2024 - the extension of time".

JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal and member Dilip Saikia will move the motion. The motion says, “That this House do extend time for the presentation of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 up to the last day of the Budget Session, 2025”. The Bill, which is aimed at reforming the management and regulation of the Waqf properties across the country, has been deferred due to heated debates and disruptions within the JPC -- between ruling BJP members and the opposition leaders. On Wednesday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a resolution seeking the JPC term's extension. The proposal suggested the committee submit its report to Parliament in the first week of the Budget Session. Chairman Jagdambika Pal has already prepared a 500-page draft report. However, there is a consensus that more deliberation is essential, given the sensitive and contentious nature of the Bill.

Recently, during a post-election speech after the BJP's success in Maharashtra Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Waqf Act, claiming it was not envisioned by the Constitution's architect, Ambedkar, and accused Congress of enacting the law for its vote politics. "Congress made laws to promote appeasement politics, and the Waqf Board is an example of it," the Prime Minister had said. The Centre tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, on August 8 and then referred it to the JPC following the opposition’s objections. It tasked the panel to submit a report by the end of the first week of the winter session. The committee comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha and includes 13 opposition members (nine from the Lower House and four from the Upper House).