Waqf Bill parliamentary review panel to have 31 MPs: Party-wise breakdown

The Waqf Amendment Bill seeks to overhaul the existing Waqf Act by introducing sweeping changes including representation of Muslim women, non-Muslims in the institutions among other measures

A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was announced on Tuesday to review the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The committee will be chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal and will consist of 31 members.

This decision comes days after the Congress-led INDIA bloc vehemently opposed the bill, labelling it as an ‘attack on the federal system’. Last week, the Opposition called on the Centre to refer the Bill to a parliamentary committee for broader consultation before presenting it in the House. In response, the Centre decided to send the Bill to a JPC for further examination on Thursday evening.

From Lok Sabha, a total of 21 MPs have been named in the committee while 10 from the Rajya Sabha. They will submit their report by the next session.

The Bill seeks to overhaul the existing Waqf Act by introducing sweeping changes including representation of Muslim women, non-Muslims in the institutions among other measures.

Waqf bill review committee: Party wise MPs

In Lok Sabha, 12 members of the panel from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have been named. These include eight MPs from the BJP. Nine Lok Sabha MPs from the opposition will also be a part of the panel.

From Rajya Sabha, four BJP MPs, four from the opposition, one from the YSRCP, as well as one nominated member will sit on the panel.

Lok Sabha MPs in Waqf Bill review committee:

BJP and NDA: Jagdambika Pal; Nishikant Dubey; Tejasvi Surya; Aparajita Sarangi; Sanjay Jaiswal; Dilip Saikia; Abhijit Gangopadhyay; D K Aruna; Lavu Sri Krishnadevaraya (TDP); Dileshwar Kamait (JDU); Naresh Ganpat Mhaske (Shiv Sena); Arun Bharti (Lok Janshakti Party); 

Congress: Gaurav Gogoi; Imran Masood; Mohammad Jawed; 

Others: Mohibbullah (SP); Kalyan Banerjee (TMC); A Raja (DMK); Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena UBT); Shri Mahtre Balya Mama Suresh Gopinath (Sharad Pawar NCP); Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM)

Rajya Sabha MPs in Waqf Bill review panel:

BJP: Brij Lal; Medha Vishram Kulkarni; Gulam Ali; Radha Mohan Das Agrawal 

Congress: Syed Naseer Hussain; 

Others: Mohammed Nadimul Hague (TMC); V Vijayasai Reddy (YSRCP); M Mohamed Abdulla (DMK); Sanjay Singh (AAP); 

Nominated member: Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggadc