Opposition parties demand Waqf bill be sent to parliamentary panel for scrutiny

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill be sent to Parliament's standing committee for scrutiny after it is introduced, with the government saying the Business Advisory Committee will take a call after assessing the sense of Lok Sabha.

The government, official sources said, will not press for the passage of the Bill after it is introduced in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Whether to send the bill to a Parliament panel for scrutiny or not will be decided on Wednesday but it cannot be ruled out, a source said.

The Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress representatives at the committee said that the bill, which is being opposed by some Muslim organisations, should be sent to the standing committee, which deals with the minority affairs ministry and has not been constituted yet.

The House may form a panel in the absence of the standing committee.