Parliamentary panel meet on Waqf begins on stormy note

Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill hears Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's opposition to government interference in religious matters.

The meeting of the parliamentary committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill began on a stormy note on Friday (January 24, 2025), with opposition members claiming they were not being given adequate time to study the proposed changes to the draft legislation.

The Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, is scheduled to hear the views of a delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmir.

Before calling the Mirwaiz, the members of the Committee held discussions among themselves which turned stormy with opposition leaders claiming the BJP was pushing for speedy acceptance of the report on the Waqf Amendment Bill with an eye on the Delhi elections.

The heated arguments during the meeting led to a brief adjournment of the proceedings. The Mirwaiz-led delegation appeared before the Committee after it reconvened.

Trinamool member Kalyan Banerjee and Congress member Naseer Hussain stormed out of the meeting and told reporters that the proceedings of the committee had become a “farce”.

They demanded that the meeting scheduled for January 27 to examine the proposed amendments clause-by-clause be deferred to January 30 or January 31.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey slammed the opposition members contending that their conduct was against Parliamentary practice and they were trying to suppress the voice of the majority.