The parliamentary committee’s meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill got off to a contentious start on January 24. The members of the opposition accused the panel of not allowing enough time to review the proposed changes. Ten opposition MPs have been suspended - including the Trinamool's Kalyan Banerjee, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, and A Raja of the DMK for the day from the joint parliamentary committee studying proposed changes to 44 sections of the Waqf Act of 1955.

As per reports, the suspended members have written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking proceedings to be conducted in a fair manner.

"As we all felt humiliated, we stood and raised our voice democratically to hear our demands. Meanwhile, the Chairman spoke in phone with somebody and suddenly and surprisingly, he ordered our suspension with shouting," the suspended MPs said in the letter to the Speaker.

The Joint Committee, chaired by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, was set to hear from a delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious leader of Kashmir.

Before meeting with Mirwaiz, the committee members engaged in heated discussions, with opposition leaders alleging that the BJP was rushing to approve the bill ahead of the Delhi elections. The tensions led to a brief adjournment, and the Mirwaiz delegation appeared once the session resumed.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey criticized opposition members, accusing them of violating parliamentary practices and attempting to silence the majority. Ahead of his appearance before the committee, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters he strongly opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill, advocating for non-interference by the government in religious matters.

These two teams are meeting for the first time in the tournament in pool stage.

Trinamool’s Banerjee and Congress’s Naseer Hussain stormed out of the meeting happened today, calling the committee proceedings a "farce." They demanded the meeting scheduled for January 27 to examine the amendments clause-by-clause be postponed to January 30 or 31.

Mirwaiz expressed concerns over the bill, saying, “We hope our suggestions will be heard and no steps will be taken that make Muslims feel disempowered. Waqf is a serious issue, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, where it’s a Muslim-majority state. We’ve prepared a detailed memorandum to address these concerns and urge the government to refrain from interfering in Waqf matters.”

He warned that talk of mosques and temples already creates tension in Jammu and Kashmir and emphasized the need to avoid actions that could further inflame the situation. This marks the first time Mirwaiz has left the Kashmir Valley since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Initially, Mirwaiz was set to meet Pal at his residence.

With inputs from PTI.ps88

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