In India, parliamentary committee discusses controversial Waqf bill critics say violates constitutional rights

Parliament's Joint Committee (PAC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill met in Delhi on Thursday, August 22, where officials from the Minority Affairs and Law Ministries are briefing the members about the various amendments proposed in the draft law.  Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8 and referred to a joint committee of Parliament after a heated debate between the Treasury bench and the Opposition. While the Opposition called the proposed law a 'targeting of Muslims' and an 'attack on the Constitution', the government asserted it does not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques. The 31-member PAC, headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, was then tasked by the Lok Sabha to scrutinise the contentious bill, which has drawn protests from the opposition parties and Muslim organisations. Today, the representatives from the Minority Affairs Ministry are expected to brief the committee on the "amendments proposed on the Bill". The JPC will discuss the bill threadbare and also the concerns over it, news agency PTI reported Pal as saying ahead of the meeting, adding that the committee will hear the voices of different stakeholders.
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