The Cabinet has approved the proposed changes in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. It includes the amendments recently suggested by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
Now this bill will be introduced in Parliament for discussion and passage in the second part of the budget session, which will run from March 10 to April 4. Many top BJP leaders have claimed that the bill is likely to be passed during the budget session itself.
14 amendments accepted
Sources said that the Cabinet accepted 14 amendments suggested by the Joint Parliamentary Committee headed by Jagdambika Pal in a meeting held on February 19. In the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the government has proposed 44 changes in the laws governing the Central and State Waqf Boards.
These proposals include the nomination of non-Muslim and (at least two) women members in the Waqf Board, due to which the opposition strongly opposed these amendments. The bill was referred to the JPC in August 2024 after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The JPC had submitted a 655-page report.
The JPC submitted its 655-page report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30 and suggested several amendments to the Waqf Bill. Opposition members expressed their disagreement with these amendments. The report was tabled in Parliament on February 13 amid uproar and walkout by opposition parties.
The major amendments in the bill include renaming the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 as the 'Integrated Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Bill', including a member from the Muslim OBC community in state waqf boards, protecting women's inheritance rights and uploading details of all waqf properties on a central portal within six months.
The JPC report contained suggestions made by BJP members. Opposition members had termed it unconstitutional and alleged that the move would ruin the Waqf Boards.
BJP members had stressed that the bill introduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year would try to bring modernity, transparency, and accountability in the management of Waqf properties. The committee accepted all the amendments proposed by the BJP members and rejected the amendments of the opposition members.
The opposition had accused the government.
After the JPC report on the Waqf Bill was presented in Parliament, the opposition alleged that their dissent notes had been removed from the report and it should be withdrawn and sent back to the committee. The government had rejected this allegation and said that no dissent note has been removed and the opposition is doing vote bank politics in this matter.
The Lok Sabha Speaker allowed the dissent notes to be added as an annexure to the JPC report. Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that opposition MPs can register their objections and according to parliamentary traditions, these can be included in the report. BJP has no objection to this.
Demand for FIR in the case of cash found at judge's house, Supreme Court said - there will be no immediate hearing.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the request for an immediate hearing on the demand to direct the registration of an FIR in the case of a large amount of cash allegedly found in the government
Son of Sardar 2: The first poster of 'Son of Sardar 2' released, Ajay Devgan seen standing on a tanker
The poster of Ajay Devgan's much-awaited film 'Son of Sardar 2' has been released. In the poster, Ajay Devgan is seen in the look of a Sardar wearing a turban. He is standing on two tankers. The
India's big diplomatic move with the Taliban, Jaishankar held talks with the Afghan Foreign Minister for the first time.
After the Indo-Pak ceasefire, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. In the conversation, he praised Muttaqi for
Salman Khan: Lapse in Salman's security, two unknown persons entered his house in two days; Guards caught them and handed them over to police
A big lapse has come to light in the security of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Within two days, two unknown people tried to enter Salman Khan's house. First, at midnight on 19 May, a woman tried to
Ceasefire: Army statement- For the first time in 19 days, it was a peaceful night on the LoC, there was no shelling or firing
The effect of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on May 10 was seen a day later on May 11. Let us tell you that the tension on the border was at its peak for the last 19 days, which was going on
Bengaluru Stampede: BJP asked sharp questions to Congress on the Bangalore stampede, and also mentioned the Allu Arjun controversy
The celebration of Royal Challengers Bangalore's victory in IPL faded when 11 people lost their lives during a stampede in Bangalore. When RCB won the title for the first time, lakhs of fans gathered
Will the government get relief from SC on Wakf law or will it be banned? Read what has happened in the 'Supreme' hearing so far.
The hearing on the Waqf law was held in the country's biggest court on Wednesday. It lasted about 70 minutes. During this, the Supreme Court's comment on the Waqf law increased the central
'This is not education... this is saffron policy', MK Stalin lashed out at the Centre on the new National Education Policy issue.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday launched a major attack on the central government. He called the new National Education Policy (NEP) a saffronisation policy. Stalin said that this
Donald Trump: 'Whoever imposes more tax, we will impose the same tariff on them', Trump set April 2 as the deadline, also named India
While addressing the Congress, US President Donald Trump placed India, China, South Korea and many other countries among the countries imposing high tariffs on American imports. Trump said that
Raja Murder Case: There were marks of attack on Raja's head, Meghalaya Police told the story of collusion between Raj Kushwaha and Sonam
So far, five people including their wife Sonam have been arrested in the murder case of Indore-based transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi. It was told that Sonam surrendered in Ghazipur, Uttar
