New Delhi: The joint parliamentary committee report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to overhaul management of waqf properties, was tabled in Parliament on Thursday with the Lok Sabha Speaker allowing the addition of the dissent notes in their entirety to the annexure.
Home minister Amit Shah had earlier said his party had no objection to the dissent notes being attached to the report without redaction. Rules of procedure authorise the JPC chairman to use his discretion to decide on the inclusion of dissent notes. JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal had left out dissent notes which, it is learned, were critical of the committee’s functioning. In Rajya Sabha, a corrigendum was issued to reflect the addition of dissent notes.
Congress accuses govt of ‘bulldozing’ waqf report in Parliament
Both Houses opened to protests from the opposition which sought withdrawal of the report and alleged that the dissent notes were not included in the report in their entirety and portions were removed. The govt denied the charge and accused the opposition of politics of appeasement. The showdown saw the opposition walking out.
The proceedings saw treasury benches deny the opposition charge that report was “non-democratic” and “fake” and labelled those opposing it to be “anti-national”.
With the Budget session breaking for recess and the House set to resume from March 10, govt will now bring the revamped bill next month after cabinet approval in keeping with the JPC’s recommendations to Parliament.
When Pal tabled the report in the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs shouted slogans and rushed to the well in protest while the treasury benches applauded. Speaker Om Birla said he had added the dissent notes of panel members to the annexures of the report.
Speaking amid the protests, Shah said, “Some opposition members have objected that their dissent notes have not been annexed fully. I wish to request you on behalf of my party that whatever your objections, you can attach them to the report. My party (BJP) has no objection to it.”
In the Rajya Sabha, tension escalated soon after the report was tabled, forcing Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to adjourn the House briefly. The chairman named Samirul Islam, Nadimul Haque and M Mohamed Abdulla for creating “chaos and disruption in the House”. Leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was then called to speak.
“Bulldozing the report by only keeping the views of the majority members is not right. It is condemnable, non-democratic,” Kharge said while calling it a “fake report”. He demanded that it should be withdrawn and sent back to a committee.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, “There is no deletion or removal of any part of the report. Don’t mislead the House. The allegation is false.”