NEW DELHI: BJP MP and one of the members of JPC Dr Nishikant Dubey has raised serious concerns on the staging number of 1.25 crore responses received to the Panel on the Waqf Bill. The JPC, headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, is examining the Bill. In a letter to Pal, Dubey wrote, “As a senior member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf, I feel it is my duty to raise serious concerns about the massive number of submissions—1 crore 25 lakh—received in relation to the Waqf Bill. While your acknowledgement of this response is important, it also signals a disturbing trend that cannot be ignored.”Demanding a thorough probe into the origins of responses, received by the Panel, Dubey said, “This unprecedented volume not only sets a global record for legislative submissions, but it also invites scrutiny over the motivations and sources behind these communications. I believe it is vital that the committee addresses these concerns head-on to ensure the integrity and independence of our legislative process.”According to a PDF of Dubey’s letter, which remains in circulation across the media circles on Wednesday (without on letterhead and of which this newspaper does not guarantee the authenticity), he has cited some domestic and international influences behind a staggering number of responses sent to the Panel. Dubey’s letter read, “The first issue that requires immediate attention is the geographical origin of these submissions. It is crucial to determine how many suggestions came from within India and how many were received from international sources. Given the volume of submissions, it is statistically improbable that such an overwhelming response could emerge organically from within India alone”.He said that it is essential to ask whether foreign entities, organisations, or individuals may be deliberately orchestrating this flood of responses to manipulate the democratic process.“India has a robust parliamentary system, and any attempts to influence it through coordinated foreign intervention represent a direct threat to national sovereignty. We cannot allow external actors to flood our legislative committees with potentially agenda-driven input without carefully scrutinising the origins of such submissions,” Dubey wrote.Fearing roles of fundamentalists, he wrote, “A larger and more serious issue is the possible involvement of Islamic fundamentalist organisations in mobilising a disproportionate number of these submissions. India has a long history of combating extremism, both domestically and internationally.”He continued to say in the letter, “These groups, often funded or influenced by outside powers, seek to divide our nation along religious lines, destabilising our democracy and disrupting our legislative processes. There is reason to suspect that these elements are leveraging the Waqf Bill deliberations to sow discord and polarise public opinion. These efforts are not isolated but part of a broader strategy by fundamentalist groups to manipulate sensitive issues in our country”.
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