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Opposition MPs staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, protesting against the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The MPs alleged that the report was “biased” and “one-sided,” claiming that the dissent notes submitted by panel members were omitted from the final document.
Opposition Alleges Bias
JMM MP Mahua Maji and AAP MP Sanjay Singh asserted that the bill is the first step toward land acquisition beyond Waqf properties, with the government allegedly aiming to seize properties belonging to other religious communities in the future. “The INDIA Alliance staged a walkout against the JPC report. The committee has been biased. Today, they are targeting Waqf land; tomorrow, they will grab the properties of other religions,” said Mahua Maji while addressing reporters.
Procedural Lapses And Missing Dissent Notes
Congress MP and panel member Dr Syed Naseer Hussain accused the JPC of procedural lapses, claiming that key sections of the dissent notes were obscured. “Non-stakeholders were invited to the discussions, and 97% of those who participated opposed the bill. We were denied access to meeting minutes, and crucial parts of our dissent notes were blurred,” he alleged. Hussain also accused Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju of “lying” about the process.
AAP’s Concerns Over Religious Property Seizures
AAP MP Sanjay Singh echoed similar concerns, condemning the exclusion of Opposition voices from the report. “It is disappointing that the dissent notes have been ignored. This is just the beginning. Soon, they will bring a bill to take over lands belonging to Gurdwaras, Temples, and Churches and hand them over to their capitalist allies,” he stated.
Meanwhile, AIMIM MP and JPC member Asaduddin Owaisi revealed that a delegation of Lok Sabha MPs, including A Raja, Kalyan Banerjee, Imran Masood, Mohammad Jawed, and Gaurav Gogoi, met Speaker Om Birla to protest the removal of dissenting sections. “The Speaker directed the Secretary-General to include the permissible parts of our dissent notes. We later sat in the Parliamentary library and managed to reinstate most of the redacted pages before the report was presented in the Lok Sabha at 2 pm,” Owaisi said.
Heated Exchanges In Parliament
Earlier in the day, heated exchanges broke out in both houses of Parliament over the contentious JPC report, leading to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha till 2 pm amid loud Opposition sloganeering. Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, strongly opposed the report, alleging that the government deliberately removed dissenting opinions from Opposition members.
The Waqf Act of 1995 was originally enacted to regulate Waqf properties, but it has faced criticism over alleged mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to introduce reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. However, the Opposition argues that the amendments could pave the way for government overreach into religious properties.
(With ANI Inputs)
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