JPC Report On Waqf Bill Accepted In Rajya Sabha Amid Dissent Deletion Row

Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the Waqf Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid uproar from the opposition. Kharge called the report "fake" and that it should be withdrawn.

The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was accepted on Thursday after it was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid massive showdown from the opposition over deletion of dissent notes, a charge which was denied by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. 

The report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled by BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni, a member of the panel. It was followed by ruckus by opposition members who claimed that their dissent notes had been deleted from the report. 

JPC chairman emphasised that the committee toured the country to gather inputs before the report, which includes the adoption of 25 amendments across 14 clauses, was filed.

Here's what happened in the Upper House today as JPC report was tabled:

• BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled the JPC report on Waqf Bill after six months of consultation. She also tabled a copy of the evidence record given before the panel on the Waqf.
• The uproar started after the report was tabled and continued even as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar tried to read out a message from President Droupadi Murmu. "Don't show disrespect to the president of India," Dhankhar said, urging Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to ask the opposition members to take their seats.
• The Upper House was then adjourned till 11:20 AM. When it reconvened, the chairman read out the message from the president, saying that she had received the expression of thanks by Rajya Sabha members on her address to a joint sitting of Parliament on January 31.
• As Dhankar tied to proceed, opposition members continued with their protest, with some MPs trooping into the well of the House. Leader of the House JP Nadda expressed regeret that the Rajya Sabha did not maintain order when the president's message was being read out.
• Chairman Dhankhar then said that Nadimul Haque, Samirul Islam, and M Mohamed Abdulla created chaos and disrupted the House.
• TWhile speaking in the House, Congress chief Kharge said the dissent notes of opposition MPs in the JPC report on the Waqf bill were redacted. "The report of the joint committee of Parliament on Waqf… in which several members had given their dissent note has been taken out. Bulldozing the report by only keeping the views of the majority members is not right. It is condemnable, anti-democratic," he said.
• Calling it a "fake" report, Kharge demanded it should be withdrawn and referred back to a committee. "The MPs are protesting not for personal reasons but because of the injustice being done to a community, he said.This is not about any individual... These MPs are not protesting for their own sake, they are protesting for the community against which injustice is being done," Kharge said.
• DMK leader Tiruchi Siva and AAP's Sanjay Singh also echoed similar claims as they objected to the alleged removal of dissent notes from the JPC report.
• However, these claims were denied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju. He also asked the opposition members to not mislead the House. "There is no deletion or removal of any part of the report. Don't mislead the House. Opposition members (are) making unnecessary issues. The allegation is false," he said.
• Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman also accused the opposition parties of misleading the Upper House, which led to another heated exchange with the opposition benches.
• Rijiju reiterated that the JPC report had all annexures and that nothing was taken out. Following this, the opposition MPs staged a walkout and the House proceeded with the Question Hour.