Centre calls meeting of All MPs to discuss Waqf Amendment Bill today
New Delhi: The Central Government has convened a meeting of all Members of Parliament (MPs) on Wednesday to discuss the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. The session, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Coordination Room No. 5 of the Parliament, will provide MPs with a one-hour briefing on the proposed amendments to Waqf laws.
The government aims to clarify the bill’s provisions ahead of its presentation in Parliament, amid growing opposition. The proposed amendments have sparked controversy, with various groups accusing the Centre of acting against the interests of the Muslim community.
Several Muslim organisations, including Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, have raised objections, warning that the amendments could lead to mismanagement of Waqf properties and undermine the autonomy of the community in managing its endowments. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has announced large-scale protests, with a demonstration scheduled in Patna’s Gardanibagh on March 26, followed by another in Vijayawada on March 29.
AIMPLB spokesperson Qasim Rasool Ilyas condemned the bill, calling it communal and alleging that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) ignored opposition parties and Muslim organisations during its review. The 31-member JPC proposed amendments, which were approved by a majority of 15 BJP MPs against 11 opposition members, leading to dissent from opposition leaders over the bill’s impact on Muslim religious and charitable institutions.
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Will vacate one of two assembly seats won in 10 days: BJP''s Suvendu
Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
