The Joint Committee Report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 was tabled in both Houses of Parliament amid opposition protests on Thursday. When the Lok Sabha resumed after adjournment at 2 PM, Chairman of the Joint Committee Jagdambika Pal tabled the report in the House. Opposition members created noisy scenes. Amid the din, Union Home Minister said the BJP has no objection if Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla allows the addition of dissent notes in the report, as demanded by the opposition members. Members from Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, TMC, and others staged a walkout from the House protesting against the report.
Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 PM following uproar by the opposition members over the Joint Committee Report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024. When the Lower House met on Thursday morning, opposition members, including Congress, DMK, and Samajwadi Party, created a ruckus. Speaker Om Birla repeatedly urged the opposition members to allow the House to take up listed business. The Speaker said he would allow the members to speak once the report was tabled. Mr. Birla added that the Question Hour is important, and creating an uproar is not appropriate. As pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 PM.
In the Rajya Sabha, when the House met this morning, BJP MP Dr. Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled a copy of the report in the Upper House amid opposition protests. As the opposition members continued with their sloganeering, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged them to allow the House to function, but in vain. The Chairman warned the protesting members of action. He said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has clarified that no part of dissent and input has been deleted. He added that he cannot allow the House to set afloat untruths. Later, he adjourned the House for a brief period till 11:20 AM.
When the House reassembled, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjuna Kharge alleged that the dissent notes given by the opposition members in the committee meetings had not been included in the report. He described it as an anti-democratic move. He added that if the report does not have dissent views, it should be sent back to the committee. Nasir Hussain of the Congress also made similar allegations.
Responding to it, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju clarified that no part of the report, proceedings, and dissent notes had been deleted. He accused the opposition of misleading the House over the issue. He added that the Parliamentary Committee conducted the entire proceedings as per the rules. He also said all the dissent notes are attached in the appendix of the report.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also echoed similar views and criticized the opposition over the issue. Leader of the House J.P Nadda said that while keeping up traditions, Parliamentarians must adhere to constitutional provisions and allow the House to function smoothly. He also said he was disappointed that the opposition members were not allowing the proceedings despite repeated requests by the Chair. He accused the opposition of being irresponsible and said they should be condemned in strong words. Not satisfied with the Government’s response, the opposition members staged a walkout from the Upper House. Later, Mr. Nadda questioned the opposition over their approach in the Rajya Sabha.
