Today’s Ten: JPC on Wakf (Amendment) Bill should restore minorities’ faith in democracy
By Pradeep Damodaran in Media News on Friday, 09th August 2024 at 3:35pmThe essence of any democratic government is, and should always be, discussion and debate - even if it delays the introduction of any new reform by several years. And this is even more pertinent when it involves contentious issues such as those involving the rights of religious minorities. In that sense, the decision taken by the government to send the Wakf (Amendment) Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after the Opposition and even some of the BJP’s allies raised apprehensions over the sweeping changes proposed in the Bill is a shot in the arm for Indian democracy.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which renames the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995, states that in the wake of recommendations of various committees i...
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