New Delhi: A ruckus erupted during the ongoing meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday. Ten opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, were suspended for the day from the meeting following the ruckus.

These 10 suspended MPs are - Kalyan Banerjee, Mohammed Jawaid, A Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Nasir Hussain, Mohibullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haq and Imran Masood.

These MPs were suspended following a disagreement between the t=commitee members. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the Chairman of the committee did not listen to anyone.

"It is like an undeclared emergency going on in the meeting...Chairman is proceeding with this (meeting) and he doesn't listen to anyone...They (BJP MPs) think that they are deputy PM and deputy Home Minister. This is a complete farce.....We were told there will be a meeting on 24th and 25th January. Now, for today's meeting, the agenda has been changed from clause by clause discussion," Banerjee said.

Kalyan Banerjee's Statement:

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey lashed out at the Opposition MPs. "It is the thinking of the people belonging to the Opposition, especially Owaisi sahib that we have not heard the complete representation from Jammu & Kashmir and called Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Only to hear him the JPC chairman postponed the meeting to hold clause by clause discussion. Today, the Opposition's thoughts and views are exposed. They created a ruckus and misbehaved in front of Mirwaiz, this is against parliamentary democracy," Dubey told ANI.

"Even if there was a meeting to hold clause-by-clause discussion today and tomorrow, there would have been another meeting on 27th Jan or 28th Jan. A meeting was already determined for 27th Jan. The Opposition wants to strangle the voice of the majority. The maximum number of members have suggested to hold a meeting on 27th Jan. On 29th January, we will submit the report to the Speaker. Whenever I have taken the mic to speak in JPC, the Opposition has always tried to strangle my voice," he added.

Nishikant Dubey's Remarks:

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is to submit its report during the budget session. The term of the committee was extended during the winter session of Parliament.

The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.

Notably, the budget session of Parliament will commence on January 31 and continue till April 4, with the union budget to be presented on February 1.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.