Ahead of the commencement of Parliament’s Winter Session on Monday, Opposition MPs, who are members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to extend the time for submitting the JPC report.

During the meeting, the MPs conveyed their concern to Speaker Birla about the conduct of the committee’s proceedings and the completeness of its findings.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said, “We met the Lok Sabha Speaker and he listened to our issues in which we had 2-3 prominent representatives. The tour was cancelled in the middle, the tour was conducted without quorum in two places, and the remaining places are yet to be visited; they should be completed. The discussion on the ministry’s report is still pending and it should be completed. Several members of the Waqf Board are yet to come before the JPC; this should be done. A JPC report will be prepared after listening to all the arguments. You cannot write and submit a JPC report overnight by forcefully holding hands. The Speaker listened to all these things very politely and assured us that we would extend the time limit for submitting our report to the JPC.”

The meeting came after JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal announced that the committee’s report is ready and is likely to be tabled during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. Pal also acknowledged the Opposition’s demand for an extension but defended the committee’s process.

“Our report is ready, and we will hold clause-by-clause discussions on it. The Opposition here was also saying this (seeking an extension of tenure of JPC)…. Any member or Opposition is free to meet the Speaker. They (opposition) have been trying to extend the tenure of the JPC,” Pal said.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to amend laws governing Waqf properties in the country, was tabled in Parliament during the Monsoon Session early this year.

Following the Opposition’s objections, the Bill was referred to the Joint Parliament Committee.

The contentious Bill has drawn significant attention ever since it was tabled, with both ruling and opposition parties at loggerheads over the proposed amendments.