Parliament panel on Waqf Bill receives over 1.2 crore responses

The committee sought written suggestions from the general public, NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions on the Bill last month

The bill proposes the inclusion of non-Muslims and Muslim women in Waqf Boards and strips the Boards of powers to declare a property as Waqf. File. | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

A parliamentary panel examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has received a staggering 1.2 crore email responses amid campaigns launched by rival groups to ratchet up support for their respective viewpoints regarding the draft law.

Parliamentary sources said the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagadambika Pal, has also received 75,000 responses with documents to support the respective views, prompting the panel to seek additional staff from the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

“We have deployed 15 additional personnel to go through the email responses and categorise and document those,” one of the sources said.

Radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has appealed to his supporters to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by sending responses to the parliamentary panel examining the draft law.

The appeal from Mr. Naik has triggered a counter-reaction and several Hindu groups too have urged their supporters to write emails to the committee in support of the Bill.

Last month, the committee sought written suggestions from the general public, NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions on the Bill. In a statement, the committee asked people to send their comments to the joint secretary, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Room No. 440, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi-110001 or mail those to jpcwaqf-lss@sansad.nic.in.

The committee is also embarking on a five-city tour to seek feedback from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives.

The tour, beginning September 26, will take the committee to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Through these consultations, the panel will examine key aspects of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, including the digitisation of records, more rigorous auditing processes, enhanced legal measures for dealing with encroachments and the decentralisation of the Waqf management.

The committee’s nationwide consultations are aimed at gathering feedback from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from the five states as well as from Union territories to ensure a comprehensive approach to reforming the Waqf Act.

Published - September 22, 2024 06:07 pm IST