Opposition MPs write to LS Speaker Om Birla, seek time to raise concerns on Waqf Bill

New Delhi: Opposition MPs in the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking time to raise their points.
Earlier on Monday Chairman of the JPC, Jagdambika Pal said that a series of meetings will take place on November 4 and 5 to gather input from a wide range of stakeholders on the issues related to the Waqf Board Amendment Bill.
"When the resolution for the Joint Parliamentary Committee was brought by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, he said that he wanted to refer it to the JPC so that we could call more and more stakeholders, intellectuals, Islamic scholars, former judges, lawyers of the Supreme Court and high court, minority organisations," Pal said while speaking to ANI.
The Joint Committee of Parliament will meet on November 5. In this meeting committee will record views and suggestions Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad led by Shreehari Borikar, Anveshak led Gaurav Agarwal, Anjuman Shiateali Bohra led by Dawoodi Community Senior Counsel, Dr Mohammad Hanif Ahmad (Associate Professor, AMU, Aligarh) and Dr Imran Chudhary and Group, Convener, Student and Madarsa Cell on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The JPC's efforts are part of a larger national initiative to reform the Waqf Act and ensure that waqf properties are used for the greater good of the community.
The Waqf Act, 1995, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible.