The joint parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill will meet on Thursday, marking its first session since Parliament extended the committee’s deadline until the 2025 Budget session for submitting its report.
The committee, led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, has called on officials from the Ministry of Minority Affairs to present their views on the Bill.
Last week, the Lok Sabha approved a resolution to extend the committee’s tenure, a move supported by opposition MPs who urged Speaker Om Birla to consider the extension. Congress and other opposition members had raised this issue during the all-party meeting before the winter session began, arguing that the committee needed more time to hear from several stakeholders and fully assess the Bill’s implications.
In a previous meeting, opposition members walked out after Pal suggested that the committee had already prepared a preliminary report. The original deadline for the report submission was November 29, but concerns over inadequate consultations prompted the extension.
