Minority affairs ministry gives presentation on Waqf bill, oppn MPs protest

The Minorities Affairs Ministry on Monday made an extensive presentation at a parliamentary panel meeting to address the queries of MPs on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, with some opposition members arguing that the ministry's consultations over the years never called for a new law. A batch of petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the insertion of words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Constitution in 1976 also cast a shadow on the meeting as heated words were exchanged after opposition MPs questioned the panel's decision to seek depositions from some lawyers behind the plea, drawing reaction from BJP members. A BJP MP said all Indians are stakeholders in any proposed law, and the committee in its wisdom can call anyone it deems fit to offer any valuable suggestion. The Waqf law has impacted a large number of non-Muslims, he claimed. Advocates Ashwini Upadhyay, a BJP member, and Vishnu Shankar Jain are among those behind the SC pleas. They had last week appeared before the committe