'Congress ke zamane mein committee thappa lagati thi...': Amit Shah attacks Opposition over Waqf Bill

Before Union Minister Kiren Rijiju could table the controversial Waqf Bill, the Opposition launched a scathing attack in an attempt to prevent him from introducing it in the Lok Sabha.

Home Minister Amit Shah intervened by dismissing the claims of the Congress and other Opposition members.
"...It was your (opposition) insistence that a Joint Parliamentary Committee should be formed. We do not have a committee like the Congress. We have a democratic committee, which brainstorms. 'Congress ke zamane mein committee hoti thi jo thappa lagati thi'. Our committee discusses, deliberates on the basis of discussions and makes changes. If the changes are not to be accepted, then what is the point of the committee?" said Amit Shah.


Congress member KC Venugopal accused the government of trying to bulldoze the bill, saying that they had not been given enough time to move their amendments.

"You are bulldozing the legislation, you need to give time for the amendments, their no time for amendments," he said.

Speaker Om Birla said that he had given equal consideration to the amendments of the government and the opposition members.

With RSP's NK Premachandran raising some objections to the procedure adopted by the government over the bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the union cabinet had approved the amendments which had been incorporated in the bill. He said the amendments were based on the report of JPC. "There is no point of order," he said.

The bill was earlier presented in the Lok Sabha on August of last year and a Joint Parliamentary Committee, headed by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, examined it.

The bill seeks to amend Act of 1995. The Bill seeks to improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India. It aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process, and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records.