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The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill got extension to submit its final report up to last day of Budget Session, 2025. The resolution was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (November 28). The move came after the opposition members of the committee staged a walkout and slammed Jagdambika Pal, who is the JPC chairperson, for asserting that the panel's draft report was ready.
On November 27, BJP MP Pal said after the committee's meeting that its members were unanimous in its view as it has to listen to some other stakeholders, including six states, where there are disputes between the waqf and the state governments. "We feel that there is a need to extend its deadline," Pal told reporters. The committee is expected to visit a few states to meet different stakeholders.
BJP MP and committee member Aparajita Sarangi said the panel will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to extend the time for submission of its report to the House upto the last day of the Budget Session of 2025. Following the last meeting of the committee on November 21, Pal had said its draft report is ready. He indicated that the committee's consultation with stakeholders is over and its members will now discuss the report and suggest changes, if any, before it is adopted.
The opposition members took strong exception to this stand in the November 27 meeting and soon stormed out. They claimed that Birla had assured them that its tenure will be extended. The committee was constituted on August 8, soon after the contentious bill was introduced in Lok Sabha.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims. With inputs from PTI.
