House panel on waqf Bill: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey sees ‘foreign hand’ in submission numbers

The Joint Committee connected the Waqf Bill, which was introduced successful the past Parliament Session and proposes sweeping changes successful however waqfs are governed and regulated, has had 12 meetings truthful far, with the past 1 connected September 20. The stakeholders called for consultations see the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Union Ministries of Housing and Urban Affairs, Archaeological Survey of India, Zakat Foundation of India, and respective authorities waqf boards.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the AIMPLB said that arsenic portion of a run by it inviting representations from people, “5 crore” had sent their sentiment to the parliamentary committee. The committee has maintained a implicit grounds of the emails sent, AIMPLB spokesperson S Q R Ilyas said, adding that portion implicit 3.7 crore emails person been sent to the committee via a QR codification generated by it, different 1.3 crore opinions were sent via different mediums specified arsenic station and courier.

In lawsuit the Joint Committee wanted copies of these emails, the AIMPLB was prepared to taxable them arsenic impervious of the correspondence sent, Ilyas said.

In his missive to Pal, Dubey wrote: “This unprecedented measurement (of submissions) not lone sets a planetary grounds for legislative submissions, but it besides invites scrutiny implicit the motivations and sources… it is captious that the committee addresses these concerns head-on to guarantee the integrity and independency of our legislative process.”

He said that the archetypal contented that requires “immediate attention” is the geographical root of these submissions. “It is important to find however galore came from wrong India and however galore were received from planetary sources,” Dubey wrote, adding that “it is statistically improbable that specified an overwhelming effect could look organically from wrong India alone”.

Saying that “the contented of a ample information of these submissions is identical oregon contains insignificant variations”, Dubey wrote, “a larger and much superior contented is the imaginable engagement of Islamic fundamentalist organizations”.

He went connected to sanction Islamic preacher Zakir Naik “and his ilk”, calling them “inimical to our vibrant democracy”, and suggested “the engagement of overseas actors specified arsenic Pakistan’s ISI, China, and extremist organizations similar Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and the Taliban”. “If overseas quality agencies are down this flood of submissions, it would represent an unprecedented onslaught connected Indian sovereignty and a deliberate effort to compromise the independency of Parliament,” Dubey wrote.

Asking Pal to counsel the Home Ministry to “immediately behaviour a thorough investigation”, helium said the findings should beryllium circulated to each members to guarantee transparency.

The AIMPLB said it had circulated a QR codification connected August 31 urging radical to nonstop their sentiment to the parliamentary panel. Anyone scanning the QR codification is led to an online petition rejecting the Waqf Bill, which helium oregon she tin motion connected and guardant to the email code of the panel, with the AIMPLB receiving a copy.

Ilyas said that the AIMPLB has besides been holding conferences connected the Bill crossed cities, wherever it details however the projected authorities volition alteration laws governing waqf properties.

The Opposition parties had earlier slammed the projected amendments arsenic “unconstitutional”, “anti-minority” and “divisive”.

On Wednesday, asked astir the missive by Dubey during a property league astatine AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said “the BJP is making amusive of democracy”. “If successful specified a large country, lone 1.5% of the radical explicit their sentiment and they (the BJP) are pained by it, past it is wide that they don’t judge successful democracy.”

Asked astir Dubey’s missive astatine different property meeting, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju refused to remark connected it. At the aforesaid time, helium added: “The quality I person heard astir the Joint Committee is precise positive. More than 1 crore representations person come. It is proceeding everyone… authorities organizations, societal ones… I deliberation specified an extended parliamentary committee proceeding hasn’t happened successful the past… When we formed it (the Joint Committee), we empowered it. Now, emails, and nether what condition they person been sent, this volition lone beryllium seen by the committee. We volition springiness support.”

On whether the committee would beryllium capable to reason its enactment by the clip the Winter Session begins, Rijiju said: “The mode it is functioning, it should beryllium capable to array the study arsenic deputed successful the rules successful the word of reference. Before the past time of the archetypal week of the Winter Session, they volition fulfill it.”