New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the government has no opposition if dissent notes of the Opposition are added to the Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill that was tabled in Parliament today.
Chairman on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal today tabled the panel’s report in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protest. Earlier in the day, the report was tabled in the Rajya Sabha with the opposition alleging that their dissent notes were included in the JPC’s final report.
Addressing the Lower House of Parliament, Union Home Minister Shah amidst Opposition sloganeering said that, “Some members of the Opposition have raised objections that their dissent notes have not been fully included in the report. On behalf of my party, I would like to request that the disputes of the opposition be included in the appropriate procedure of the parliamentary process; my party has no objection to this.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that he has included all the dissent notes after meeting with the Oppossition leaders.
“Whatever issues were raised by the members of the Waqf Board who met with me, I have included them in the annexure,” Birla said. The Lok Sabha was subsequently adjourned till 11 am on March 10.
Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier opposed the JPC report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, alleging that dissent notes from Opposition members were removed.
Kharge said that it is not right to remove the dissent notes and views of the Opposition members from the report.
“In the JPC report on the Waqf Board, many members have their dissent report. It is not right to remove those notes and bulldoze our views. This is anti-democratic and condemnable. Stockholders were called from outside and their statements were taken. 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,” Kharge said.
Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, hit back at the opposition, calling their protest “irresponsible.”
“Inside the Parliament, there are debates and discussions on various issues, and within a democracy, we agree to disagree, but we must respect traditions. While keeping traditions in mind, the proceedings of the house should be conducted under the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.
“I regret that despite repeated requests from the Chairman, the opposition’s behaviour has been extremely irresponsible, and it deserves all the condemnation it receives,” Nadda added.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also dismissed the Opposition’s claims, saying that nothing was deleted from the report.
“There is no deletion or removal of any part of the report. Everything is tabled on the floor of the House. Don’t mislead the House. I am very pained to say that the Opposition parties are making unnecessary issues by raising issues without facts. The allegation is false. There was no violation of any rules by the JPC. All the dissent notes are also included in the report. This is very unfortunate,” Rijiju said.
The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
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