JPC formed to review Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal appointed chairman of the committee

New Delhi. A Joint Committee (JPC) of Parliament has been constituted to examine the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, which will be headed by senior BJP Lok Sabha member Jagdambika Pal. This decision has been taken after the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minority Welfare Minister Kiren Rijiju on August 8. The Joint Parliamentary Committee consists of 31 members, including 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. The committee has been directed to submit its report by the next session. Officials said that a formal notification to appoint Jagdambika Pal as the chairman of this committee will be issued soon.

Opposition parties have raised serious objections to the Waqf Amendment Bill. After the bill was introduced, the opposition strongly criticized it, calling it a tampering with the rights of the Muslim community. The opposition says that this bill will bring major changes in the management and rights of Waqf properties, which may harm the interests of the Muslim community. Keeping these objections in mind, Minority Welfare Minister Kiren Rijiju proposed to send the bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which was accepted. Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an ally in the central government, also supported sending this bill to the JPC.

The bill proposes to include Muslim women and non-Muslims in Waqf boards. Apart from this, there is also a provision to rename the Waqf Act 1995 as ‘Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act 1995’. Importantly, the bill proposes to remove Section 40, under which the Waqf Board had the power to declare a property as Waqf property. Now, the final decision on this bill will be based on the recommendations of the committee.