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JPC approves Waqf Amendment Bill, 14 changes, 2 non-Muslims will also get place in the board


New Delhi:

The changes in the Waqf Bill have been approved by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal gave this information on Monday. He told that all 44 amendments were discussed in the final meeting. Of these, 14 suggestions of NDA MP have been approved. Besides, the rule of 2 non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board has also been followed. The opposition’s proposals were rejected during voting. The Waqf Act 1995, enacted to regularize Waqf properties, has been criticized for issues like mis-management, corruption and encroachment. There was a lot of uproar earlier regarding its amendment bill, after which this bill was sent to JPC. Now JPC will present its report on Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament in the budget session itself. The budget session of Parliament will start from 31 January and continue till 4 April.

Jagdambika Pal said, “44 amendments were discussed. After detailed discussion for 6 months, we asked for amendments from all the members. This was our last meeting. Therefore, on the basis of majority, the committee accepted 14 amendments. The opposition also We put forward every amendment, but 10 votes were cast in support of it and it was not accepted.

TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee suspended for next JPC meeting on Waqf Bill, had clash with BJP MPs

Which changes were approved in the bill?
-Earlier there was a provision in this bill that 2 non-Muslim members would be mandatory in the State Waqf Board and the Central Waqf Council. Changes have been made in this. Now the ex-officio members have been separated from it. That is, Waqf Councils, whether at the state level or at the All India level, will be able to include at least 2 non-Muslim members in the board.

-Whether a property is Waqf or not… will be decided by an officer nominated by the state government. In the original draft, this decision was left to the District Collector.

-According to another amendment the law will not apply retrospectively. The condition is that the Waqf property should be registered, that is, the Waqf properties which are registered will not be affected. However, the decisions of those who are not already registered will be as per the standards set in future.

-Any person wishing to donate land must show or demonstrate that he or she has been following Islam for at least five years and must also acknowledge that there is no conspiracy involved in the surrender of such property.

Of the total 14 changes in the bill, 11 were proposed by members of the ruling BJP, including Lok Sabha MPs Nishikant Dubey, Tejasvi Surya and Aparajita Sarangi.

What is the controversy over Waqf Amendment Bill?
Waqf means giving any thing to Allah, after which the person and his family do not have any right on that thing. At present about 10 lakh acres of land is in the name of Waqf. This also includes those lands, leaving behind which Muslims went to Pakistan at the time of independence. Also, land has been dedicated to Islam by Nawabs and kings etc. Lucknow’s Aishbagh Idgah, Bada Imambara and many big mosques, cemeteries etc. are built on these lands. Those people of Muslim community who do not have any children, they also mostly transfer their land in the name of Waqf. After which a mosque, madrasa or cemetery etc. can be built on that land and it can be useful for humans.

Highest Waqf land after Railways and Army
Schools and hospitals can also be built on Waqf land, in which people of every community can get treatment and study, that is, every person can benefit from Waqf land. According to the Government of India, Waqf land in the country is about 9.4 lakh acres, which is worth about Rs 1.2 lakh crore. This means that India has the largest number of Waqf lands in the entire world. In India, Waqf land is at third place after Railways and Army, which is managed by the Waqf Board.

Suggestions were sought regarding Waqf Board Bill, now lakhs of letters reached JPC demanding investigation.

How many complaints did the Center receive about the Waqf Board?
The Ministry has released data regarding the Waqf Board, in which it has been said that from April 2022 to March 2023, 566 complaints have been received against the Waqf Board in CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System), out of which 194 complaints are related to illegal use of Waqf land. and 93 complaints are against Mutawalli or Waqf Board members.

Mutawalli is the person who is appointed to look after the Waqf property. The Ministry analyzed the functioning of the Tribunal Court and found that 40,951 cases are pending in the Tribunal Court, out of which 9942 cases have been filed by the Muslim community against Waqf managed institutions.

When was the bill introduced?
Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had introduced the Waqf Bill 2024 in the Lok Sabha on 8 August 2024. Opposition parties including Congress and Samajwadi Party had opposed this bill and called it anti-Muslim. Amidst the opposition’s objection and massive protest, this bill was sent to the JPC without any discussion in the Lok Sabha. The first meeting of the 31-member JPC on Waqf Bill amendment was held on 22 August. The tenure of JPC was extended in the winter session of Parliament.

What is the controversy regarding Waqf amended bill?
Recently, a new bill was brought in the Parliament, which will replace the Waqf Act of 1995. There was a dispute regarding this. After this, the government sent this bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 8 August. Earlier, it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. There are mainly 6 controversies regarding this bill:-

1. Naming of Waqf Act, 1995: This Act has been renamed as the Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 to reflect the broader objective of improving the management and efficiency as well as empowerment and development of Waqf Boards and properties.

2. Formation of Waqf: In this, any person who has been in the religion of Islam for the last 5 years can do Waqf of his land etc., but in this, first of all he himself should be the owner of that property and if any woman is with him, then it is very important to have her permission.

3. Treating government property as Waqf: The bill states that whatever government property is recognized as Waqf, it will no longer be so. The Collector of the area will determine the ownership in case of uncertainty and submit a report to the State Government. If it is considered government property, he will update the revenue records.

4. Right to determine whether property is Waqf: The Act empowers the Waqf Board to investigate and determine whether any property belongs to Waqf or not. The Bill removes this provision.

5. Survey of Waqf: The Act provides for the appointment of a Survey Commissioner and Additional Commissioners to survey the Waqf. The Bill instead empowers collectors to conduct surveys. The pending surveys will be as per the revenue laws of the state.

2.5 crore emails reached JPC regarding the new bill of Waqf Board, know every information related to the proposed bill

6. Central Waqf Council: This Act constitutes the Central Waqf Council, which advises the central and state governments and the Waqf Boards. The Minister of Waqf Affairs is its chairman. The Act requires that all council members be Muslims and two members be women. According to the bill, two members are required to be non-Muslims. Parliamentarians, former judges and eminent persons can be appointed to the council as per the Act, who do not have to be Muslims.

Who will be the members of Waqf Board?
– Representatives of Muslim organizations,
– scholars of Islamic law, and
– Chairman of Waqf Boards
– Two of the Muslim members should be women.

Waqf Board: The Act provides for the election of two members each to the Waqf Board at the state level from Muslims: (i) MPs, (ii) MLAs and MLCs, and (iii) Bar Council members. The new bill instead empowers the state government to nominate a person from the above background to the board, who may or may not be a Muslim. It also adds that the board must: (i) have two non-Muslim members, and (ii) have at least one member each from Shia, Sunni, and backward classes of Muslims. This also includes that if Bohra and Agakhani communities have a Waqf in the state, then it is mandatory to have one member each. According to the Act, there should be at least two women members. The bill states that two Muslim members should be women.

21 members from Lok Sabha in JPC
At present there are 21 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee i.e. JPC. Of these, 7 members are from BJP. Jagdambika Pal (BJP) is the president. Along with this, Nishikant Dubey (BJP), Tejashwi Surya (BJP), Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP), Dilip Saikia (BJP), Abhijeet Gangopadhyay (BJP), DK Aruna (YSRCP), Gaurav Gogoi (Congress). , Imran Masood (Congress), Mohammad Javed (Congress), Maulana Mohibullah (SP), Kalyan Banerjee (TMC), A Raja (DMK), LS Devarayalu (TDP), Dineshwar Kamat (JDU), Arvint Sawant (Shiv Sena, Uddhav faction), Suresh Gopinath (NCP, Sharad Pawar), Naresh Ganpat Mhaske (Shiv Sena, Shinde faction), Arun Bharti (LJP-R ) and Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) are members of JPC.

10 members from Rajya Sabha in JPC
Apart from this, 7 Rajya Sabha MPs are also included in JPC. Brij Lal (BJP), Dr. Medha Vishram Kulkarni (BJP), Ghulam Ali (BJP), Dr. Radha Mohan Das Agarwal (BJP), Syed Naseer Hussain (Congress), Mohammad Nadeem Ul Haq (TMC), V Vijayasai Reddy ( YSRCP), M Mohammed Abdullah (DMK), Sanjay Singh (AAP) are its members. One member, Dr. Dharamsthal Virendra Hegde, has been nominated by the President.

10 members were suspended after the uproar in JPC
Opposition members created a ruckus in the JPC meeting held in Delhi on January 24. He claimed that he was not given enough time to research the proposed changes in the draft. After which the committee suspended 10 opposition MPs including TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee-Owaisi for a day.

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What did the BJP MP say?
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that today the Joint Committee of Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill, exposing the conspiracy to provide rights to poor Muslims and making Hindu community second class citizens due to vote bank politics of Congress Party. Now this will become law.

What did the opposition MPs say?
-TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “This round of meetings was ridiculous. Our views were not listened to. Pal has worked in a dictatorial manner.”
-DMK has said that after the passing of this bill, it will file a petition against it in the Supreme Court. JPC member DMK MP A Raja claimed that the proposed law would be unconstitutional and his party would approach the Supreme Court against it.

Opposition to Waqf Bill: Shocking claim of Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, Parliament House is built on the land of Waqf Board.


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Sonu Kumar
Sonu Kumarhttp://newstiger.in
Stay up-to-date with Sonu Ji, who brings you fresh takes on breaking news, technology, and cultural trends. Committed to reliable reporting, Sonu Ji delivers stories that are both informative and engaging.

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