Congress MP and member of the Joint Parliamentary Panel on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, Syed Naseer Hussain, tells Preetha Nair that the bill will weaken the Muslim community. Exceprts:JPC chief Jagadambika Pal has denied your charges that some parts of the dissent notes have been omitted. Your take?The dissent note reflects the viewpoints of members who oppose the bill in its current form. Any selective omission or alteration of its contents undermines parliamentary procedure. If the chairperson denies any omissions, the entire dissent note must be included in the report. If the government is confident in the merits, it should allow dissenting opinions to be recorded transparently. Only unparliamentary language, if any, may be redacted.The government says the bill will ensure greater transparency and accountability to curb mismanagement of Waqf properties.The amendments proposed in the bill do not serve the purpose (transparency and accountability). Instead of strengthening Waqf boards, the bill disempowers them by shifting decision-making to government-appointed authorities, particularly district collectors, who may have conflicts of interest. Any reform should aim to strengthen Waqf Boards’ administrative and financial autonomy. The panel has adopted a revised bill with 14 amendments. The government says concerns about some of the contentious proposals and powers to the district collector have been addressed.
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