Waqf Bill Approved by JPC: What it Means for Muslim Charities

Joint Parliamentary Committee approves Waqf Amendment Bill, sparking debate over religious rights and transparency in managing Muslim charitable properties.

Members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee after 1738144575559

New Delhi: A big committee in Parliament, called the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), discussed and changed a law about Waqf, which is about Muslim charities that own property. They voted to adopt the report and the updated law on Wednesday. Members of the opposition, who didn’t agree with the report, need to share their disagreement by 4 PM. JPC head Jagdambika Pal mentioned that the report will be given to the Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla, on Thursday.

Pal claimed that some changes made in the law addressed concerns from the opposition. However, some opposition members, like M Mohamed Abdulla from the DMK party, said that the report did not consider the opinions of important people or the ideas brought up by others, including the opposition.

Trinamool Congress members Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque wrote that the draft report ignored important feedback and didn’t explain its decisions. They called the committee’s actions an “eyewash.”

Congress MP Imran Masood expressed disappointment, highlighting that the committee had only a short general discussion instead of going through the law step by step. But Sanjay Jaiswal, from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, defended the process, saying it was peaceful and fair.

This bill, introduced earlier by the government, aims to change how state waqf boards operate, including checking waqf properties and removing illegal claims on them. A waqf is property given for charity and community help in the Islamic faith. The new law seeks to modernize Waqf rules and make them uniform but has raised concerns. The government says these changes are necessary, but the opposition fears they might violate religious rights and the Constitution.

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