Opposition Demands Extension of JPC on Waqf Bill

New Delhi: Opposition members on Thursday demanded extension of the tenure of the Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, contending that they need more time to study the changes to the draft legislation.

At a huddle of the committee, Chairman and BJP member Jagdambika Pal announced that Thursday’s meeting would be the last sitting of the panel and a draft report would be circulated to the members shortly.

This led to protests by the Opposition members who resorted to sloganeering and some of them called Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought his intervention in the matter.

The committee has been asked by the Lok Sabha to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session of Parliament beginning Monday.

The government has already listed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill for consideration and passage in the Winter session “after the report of the joint committee is presented to the Lok Sabha”.

Meanwhile, as Parliament gears up for a stormy start next week over the Adani issue, the government has listed 16 bills, including five new ones, for the winter session. The five new draft legislations include the one to set up a cooperative university, the Rashtriya Sahkari Vishwavidyalaya.