Imran Masood calls Waqf Bill "attack" on minorities' rights

New Delhi [India], February 13, (ANI): Congress MP Imran Masood thinks the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is an attack on rights enshrined in the Constitution, suppressing the rights of minorities. The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was tabled in Lok Sabha before being tabled in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Speaking to ANI, Imran Masood said, "The Waqf Bill is being tabled now. It is an attack on the rights provided to us in the Constitution. Waqf Bill is an example of suppressing the rights of minorities. They (the government) have not included our dissent notes. We have put forward our views, but we don't know what they have done. They are running their agenda by targeting the minorities in the nation."
As per the List of Business of Lok Sabha, Jagdambika Pal, Chairperson JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, presented the committee's report in Lok Sabha, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal.
The duo will also lay the record of evidence on the table which was given before the Joint Committee. The report of the Committee was presented before Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on January 30, 2025.
In Rajya Sabha, Medha Visham Kulkarni and Gulam Ali will be presenting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024. The JPC which was formed on the bill has adopted the draft report and amended the revised bill on January 29. The committee had earlier cleared the bill with 25 amendments across 14 sections and clauses.
"For the first time, we have included a section stating that the benefits of Waqf should go to the marginalised, poor, women, and orphans," Jagdambika Pal said, while speaking to ANI.
"We had 44 clauses before us, out of which amendments were proposed by members in 14 clauses. We conducted a majority vote, and these amendments were then adopted," he added. (ANI)