![](https://www.indiaherald.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=750/imagestore/images/politics/politics_latestnews/bjps-jagdambika-pal-to-head-joint-panel-on-waqf-bill1eceea98-aa60-43f4-9362-e53ea9067129-415x250.jpg)
Senior bjp lok sabha member jagdambika pal was on tuesday named chairperson of the joint committee of Parliament, which will examine the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
A lok sabha notification said Speaker om birla appointed Pal as the head of the 31-member committee.Amid protests by the opposition in the lok sabha on its provisions, the government had decided to refer the bill to a joint committee of the two Houses.
The joint panel has 31 members — 21 from the lok sabha and 10 from the rajya sabha — and will submit its report by the next session. The 73-year-old Pal is a fourth-term mp from Uttar Pradesh and is seen as a lawmaker who enjoys warm cross-party relations.
The lok sabha and the rajya sabha on friday last adopted a motion moved by Union Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, who also holds the parliamentary affairs portfolio, naming the members to be part of the committee.A formal notification naming Pal as the chairperson of the joint committee is set to be issued shortly, the officials said. In the lower house, the panel has 12 members from the national democratic alliance (NDA), including eight from the bjp and nine from the opposition. In the upper house, four from the bjp, four from the opposition, one from the YSRCP opposed the bill, and one nominated member. The bill was tabled in the lok sabha last thursday and a joint motion was passed. After extensive discussions, the parliamentary committee, and the government's focus on this bill, did not interfere with the activities of the mosques, which critics called persecution of Muslims and attacks on the constitution.
Rijiju said the committee has been asked to submit its report to the lok sabha on the last day of the first week of the next session.