Waqf (Amendment) Bill: Opposition MPs walk out of meet over witness list

Opposition MPs stage walkout from Waqf Bill panel, alleging witnesses lack relevance to the legislation; return briefly after protest

Opposition members of Parliament’s joint committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill staged another walkout from the panel meeting on Monday, alleging that individuals lacking a direct connection to the bill were being called to provide oral evidence.

 

Among those who left the meeting are All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress member Mohammad Jawed, and Samajwadi Party (SP) member Mohibbullah Nadvi. However, according to sources, they returned after a brief absence.

 

A row erupted when the administrator of the Delhi Waqf Board submitted a report to the committee’s chair, prompting Opposition members to walk out, claiming the submission lacked the Delhi government’s authorisation.

 

 

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also submitted a letter to committee chair Jagdambika Pal, stating that the report, submitted without approval from the Delhi government, should be considered ‘null and void’.

 

This meeting was the first since Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee’s one-day suspension from the committee, following an altercation last Tuesday where he reportedly broke a glass bottle during a dispute with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

 

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal later alleged that Banerjee attempted to throw the bottle towards him, leading BJP members to call for Banerjee’s suspension and potential criminal charges.

 

During Monday’s session, the committee received oral evidence from the Waqf Boards of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. In the afternoon, former high court and Supreme Court lawyers representing ‘Call for Justice’ and the Waqf Tenant Welfare Association, Delhi, were scheduled to provide input.

 

Opposition MPs have staged several walkouts in recent weeks during Waqf panel meetings. On October 14, they walked out after a BJP leader and former official from the Karnataka State Minorities Commission, while testifying, made a controversial remark about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, allegedly regarding the allotment of Waqf land.

 

[With agency inputs]