31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to review Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024

A 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has been established to examine the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The committee includes 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The proposal for this committee was put forward by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on August 9.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP Imran Masood are among the selected members. The JPC will scrutinise the bill's provisions, which have drawn significant attention.

The Lok Sabha members appointed to the committee include Jagdambika Pal, Nishikant Dubey, Tejasvi Surya, and several others. In the Rajya Sabha, the selected members include Brij Lal, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Sanjay Singh, among others.

The proposal to form the committee was passed in both houses of Parliament. This move follows objections raised by opposition parties, including Congress, DMK, and AIMIM, who argued that the bill's provisions conflict with federalism and constitutional principles. Some members called for the bill to be withdrawn, while others suggested it be reviewed by a standing committee.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to rename the Waqf Act of 1995 as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995. The bill’s introduction and the decision to send it to a JPC mark a significant step in its legislative journey.