Rijiju refutes Oppn’s claims on Waqf Bill JPC report; says all dissent notes included
The Union Minister asserted that the entire report, including annexures, had been presented in Parliament as per rules.
After six months of nationwide consultations, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni presented the report in the upper house amid Opposition’s sloganeering.
The Opposition staged a walkout amid the discussion on the JPC report on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
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The House was adjourned till 11.20 am following a ruckus by Opposition Members. However, when the house resumed, the Opposition MPs again resorted to sloganeering.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged MPs to maintain decorum.
The opposition has alleged the deletion of dissent notes. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, called the report “unconstitutional” and “fake.” He urged the leader of the House JP Nadda to take back the “unconstitutional” JPC report.
LoP Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The Waqf panel deleted the dissent notes of MPs and added views of people from outside. This is unconstitutional and the House will not allow tabling of such a report”.
He said, ” I condemn any report that has been presented after deleting the dissent reports. We will never accept such fake reports… If the report does not have dissent views, it should be sent back and presented again… “
Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju assured the House that all dissent notes of the Opposition MPs have been attached to the appendix of the report, adding, “Why are you still protesting? No part of dissent has been deleted”.
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Bhupender Yadav also made an intervention. Mr Yadav said all the rules were duly followed.
Ms Sitharaman said the opposition members did not believe the minister(Rijiju). ”It is outrageous…”
Leader of House JP Nadda critiqued the Opposition for creating ruckus when President’s message was being read.
”Debates, discussions on topics and agreement and disagreement have been going on inside Parliament, but we should keep traditions in mind. Keeping traditions in mind, the proceedings of the House should be allowed to continue in a democratic manner under the constitutional provisions.
He said, ”We are sorry that despite your repeated requests, you were not allowed to read the President’s message. The kind of role the opposition has played is irresponsible. When her message was read, the House should have been in order, which is not the case. We condemn this.”
Committee member and AAP MP Sanjay Singh said it was disappointing that the Opposition’s dissent notes have not been included in the report.
Earlier today, BJP MP and the Chairman of Waqf JPC, Jagadambika Pal, said that the report is being presented after six months of nationwide consultations with all the relevant parties.
“Today, the JPC will produce its report in Parliament. To have a detailed discussion and deliberation, the JPC was formed six months ago. In the last six months, we have prepared a report after touring the whole nation. We have adopted 25 amendments in 14 clauses,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress has alleged that an attempt is being made to bring a politically motivated amendment to the already available Waqf Act.
“Today, the JPC will produce its report in Parliament. To have a detailed discussion and deliberation, the JPC was formed six months ago. In the last six months, we have prepared a report after touring the whole nation. We have adopted 25 amendments in 14 clauses,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress has alleged that an attempt is being made to bring a politically motivated amendment to the already available Waqf Act.
“Currently, there is an act that manages Waqf properties, and instead of focusing on how the government can better implement this act, an attempt has been made to bring a politically motivated amendment,” said Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.
The BJP-led NDA government is pushing to pass the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 during the ongoing Budget Session. The Bill will be tabled in the Lok Sabha at 2 pm.
Once introduced in the Lok Sabha, the Bill will be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance for further deliberations. The new law is expected to take effect on April 1, 2026.
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