'Party with no Muslim MP bringing Waqf Bill', Pawan Khera calls out BJP's 'hypocrisy'

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday termed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 a 'hypocrisy' by the BJP as it introduced it in the Lok Sabha despite not having a single Muslim MP representing the party in the Parliament.

However, the Congress leader also said the decision to send the Waqf Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is a sign of "healthy democracy".

"It is a symbol of a healthy democracy that the government had to rethink its decision and send the Bill to the JPC," he said, adding that the Centre finally had to kneel in front of the Opposition's demand.

Taking a dig at the Centre, Khera said, "The BJP high command, while sending the Bill to the JPC, should have felt embarrassed for not having a single Muslim MP in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha."

Khera also slammed the Centre over the the Broadcasting Bill, saying it was good that the first draft of the Bill was withdrawn.

On Monday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry extended the deadline for receiving feedback on the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill till October 15 in view of wider consultations with all the stakeholders.

"A fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations," the Ministry said in a post on X.

The Congress leader said, "We were raising our voices against it. Efforts were being made to suppress voices, be that of a common man or a YouTuber who wanted to express their views and opinions on any specific issue."

Khera also said it was better that the government succumbed to the Opposition's pressure and had to rethink its decision.

"I don't think the government should do anything like this again in the future," he said.