As Mirwaiz Appears Before Panel On Waqf Bill, BJP MP Claims Oppn Created 'Episode' To Prevent Him From Speaking
Farooq appeared before the BJP MP Jagdambika Pal-led committee in his capacity as patron of Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a body of Muslim bodies from the region.
New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Even as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Muslims in Kashmir, opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill before a parliamentary committee, several BJP members took heart from his decision to be part of the constitutional process as the Hurriyat leader has been associated with separatist politics in the Valley.
"The best part was that he put his points strongly and cited his constitutional right to express his objections to different clauses of the Bill," BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, a member of the joint committee of Parliament scrutinising the proposed law, said.
He claimed that opposition members deliberately created an "episode" so that the delegation of Muslim clerics led by Farooq could not express their views before the committee.
Though Farooq appeared before the BJP MP Jagdambika Pal-led committee in his capacity as patron of Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a body of Muslim bodies from the region, he is also the leader of the moderate faction of Hurriyat, a separatist conglomerate, which has gone virtually defunct following the central government's crackdown.
That he stepped out of the Valley to be part of a constitutional process was seen as significant by many political watchers.
"It is good that he became a part of the democratic process," BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, also a member of the committee, said.
Jaiswal, though, stressed that a term like "separatist" should not be used for anyone appearing before Parliament. Parliamentary committees are considered a mini Parliament.
In his written submission before the committee, the Mirwaiz criticised the proposed amendments in the Waqf Act as a violation of the Muslim Personal Law that he added was protected under "Article 25 of the Indian Constitution".
Sources said he also invoked Article 26, which provides for the freedom to manage religious affairs, to argue against the draft law.
Continuous protests by opposition members from the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the DMK, among other parties, delayed the panel's proceedings as they wanted the next sitting for members to discuss the Bill clause-by-clause on January 27 postponed.
They wanted more time to study the matter and submissions by stakeholders from around the country.
Pal, however, said they were deliberately trying to scuttle the meeting despite being given adequate time to present their views. All 10 opposition MPs were later suspended, following which the proceedings began.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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