New Delhi: The Union Government of India will table the Waqf amendment bill on Wednesday, April 2, said Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju. He will respond to the debate and seek approval of the House in order to pass the bill.
According to sources, as mentioned in a report by news agency PTI, the issue was brought up during a discussion in a business advisory committee (BAC) meeting, which was chaired by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. The bill is scheduled to be tabled right after the question hour session. The discussion for the Waqf amendment bill, which was introduced by the government last year, will go on for eight hours with additional time likely as mentioned by Rijiju.
The opposition parties had asked for 12 hours of discussion at the BAC meet, given their strong resistance on the passage of the bill. The opposition walked out of the meet following heated argument with the government officials. Speaker Om Birla finally decided that the discussion will be held for eight hours and was left wondering the opposition’s move.
“If the House feels that the time for discussion should be extended, then the time can be extended, but if they (opposition) do not want to participate in the discussion by making some excuse, then I cannot stop it,” Rijiju said.
“We want discussion. Every political party has the right to express its opinion and the country wants to hear which political party has what stand on the amendment bill,” the Union Minister added.
Rijiju has further asserted that the bill doesn’t reduce the freedom of religious institutions and the motive is to provide rights to those, who lacked them. The opposition has called the Waqf amendment bill as unconstitutional as it believes it to be against the rights of Muslims.
