JPC on Waqf Bill gets extension till Budget session

NEW DELHI: The government will not introduce the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill in the winter session of Parliament, as the Lok Sabha on Thursday adopted the motion to extend the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Bill. The committee is now scheduled to present its report on the last day of the Budget Session next year. The government had listed Waqf Bill for passage during the ongoing Parliament session, which concludes in December 20.According to JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal, at the meeting held by the committee on Wednesday, it was discussed that there are around six states where there is a dispute between the state government and Waqf Board on the ownership of properties. The JPC decided to get an extension considering these disputes.“The Speaker had given a mandate to the JPC, but at the meeting held yesterday, it was said that there are certain properties where there is a dispute between the state government and Waqf Board, with the board claiming certain properties as theirs. There are six such states, we had asked for a reply from them but we haven’t gotten a reply,” he told media.The Opposition members in the JPC have been persistent with their demand for a reasonable extension of the panel’s tenure to allow substantive deliberations on the expansive legislation.“Now we have decided to present our findings on the last day of the 2025 budget session,” said Pal.At Wednesday’s meeting, BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Aparajita Sarangi also sought more time for the JPC, after the Opposition staged a walkout, alleging that the chairman was keen to close proceedings by the November 29 deadline in a hurry. They claimed that the proceedings have become a mockery.The Opposition members claimed that legal exercise done by the government through the Bill is a surreptitious attempt to mitigate the earlier legislations made by the Parliament.



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