Union Minister Kiren Rijiju speaks in the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
A day after Parliament formed a joint committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, it remains unclear about the nature of the panel. Unlike the previous JPCs, no terms of reference have been announced so far for the 31-member panel. Experts have questioned the nature of the committee and have demanded clarity on its functioning.
On Friday, the last day of the Budget session, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju had moved a motion in both the Houses to form a joint committee consisting of 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha. However, it is not clear whether the panel will consider only the content of the Bill or also look at issues such as encroachments on waqf properties and management of properties.
Former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and former Chairman of the joint parliamentary committee on Waqf Boards K. Rahman Khan told The Hindu that he expected the Centre to announce the terms of reference for the committee at the earliest. โThey have not given any details on what are going to be the priorities for the panel other than the Bill. Procedurally, the Bill should have gone to a standing committee. The committees are not yet formed, that is probably why the Centre has formed a joint panel,โ Mr. Khan said.
Mr. Khan said the detailed report presented by him in 2008 had dealt with issues plaguing the Waqf system, and, later as Minority Affairs Minister, he had brought in a comprehensive legislation in 2013 to help the management of Waqf properties. โWe had considered all aspects of the Waqf system in the country and suggested reforms in the report. The government accepted it and the Bill was a result of our work,โ he said.
Former Secretary General of Lok Sabha P.D.T. Acharya said a JPC should have a specific agenda with terms of reference. โFor Bills, there is a specific provision in the rule book of forming joint select committees, where Ministers can also become members. In the past, there were several such committees where Ministers were also members. Such a joint select committee will have the power to amend a Bill as the government is represented in it. It seems that this government has not understood the difference between a JPC and a joint select committee. A joint select committee would have been ideal for the Waqf Bill,โ he said.
P.C. Chacko, a former MP and working president of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar , who chaired the JPC on the 2G scam, said JPCs have no meaning if their reports are not binding on the government. โJPCs seldom have the power of parliamentary oversight. A JPC is considered a mini Parliament, but its reports have just suggestions and recommendations which the government may or may not accept,โ he said.
Another senior Parliamentarian, who wished to remain anonymous, said the formation of panel on the Waqf Bill was a โtime-buyingโ exercise. He said the government would have clear majority in the Rajya Sabha before the winter session and until then it wanted to delay the passage of the Bill.
The joint committee has to make a report to Parliament by the last day of the first week of the winter session.
