NEW DELHI, Jan 27:
The Parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf bill is set to propose that existing “Waqf by user” properties will remain so if not in dispute or are Government facilities but they must be registered before the new law takes effect, providing little relief to Waqf bodies in their unverified title claims.
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Opposition MPs today proposed amendments in all 44 clauses of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, seeking to mostly restore the provisions of the current Act, and claimed that the law proposed by the committee in its report would maintain the Bill’s “draconian” character and the bid to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.
While the accepted amendments make some concessions to Muslim bodies criticising the Bill, including leaving it to Waqf boards to decide on welfare measures for widows and orphans, among others, instead of mandating it by law, a few of them may further irk the critics.
The meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal was again marked by noisy protests by opposition members, who accused him of “subverting” democratic process.
The Panel is set to adopt its report on Wednesday with MPs of opposition parties such as the Congress, TMC, DMK and the AIMIM expected to give their dissent, sources said.(PTI)
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