Waqf JPC Report Triggers Govt-Opposition Showdown As Congress Alleges ‘Dissent Note Deletion’

Last Updated:February 13, 2025, 13:40 IST

Parliament Budget Session: The government tabled the JPC report on Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha today. The move triggered a massive uproar by the Opposition.

Parliament Budget Session Live Updates: Waqf Bill JPC report tabled in Rajya Sabha (Photo: SansadTV)

Parliament Budget Session: The Rajya Sabha was a witness to a massive showdown on Thursday over the JPC report on the Waqf Amendment Bill that was tabled in the House, triggering uproar by the Opposition which alleged removal of their “dissent notes”. The government refuted the charge, stating that no notes have been redacted.

The Centre, however, highlighted that the JPC chairman has the discretion to take down the portions that malign the committee.

The Opposition staged a walkout over the issue, drawing a sharp reaction from Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar who said that the Opposition “was not walking out from the Rajya Sabha but from their constitutional obligation”.

The government sources said that only those parts of the dissent notes of the Opposition have been deleted that made “unparliamentary remarks” against JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal. “The dissent notes are part of the report,” sources said.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and opposition MPs, and decided that the dissent notes of Opposition members would be included in the report in their original form.

Debate In Rajya Sabha On JPC Report

Addressing the House, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that it was not right to “bulldoze our views” in the JPC report and declared that the Opposition will not accept the “fake report”.

He suggested that the report be sent back to the JPC and presented again after the inclusion of all dissent notes.

“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-democracy… 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,” he said.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju refuted the Opposition’s charge, stating that no deletion from the report has taken place. He said that the JPC conducted the entire proceedings according to the rules.

“I have checked the concerns raised by the Opposition. There is no deletion or removal from the report. Everything is on the floor of the House. On what basis can such an issue be raised? The members of the Opposition are creating an unnecessary issue, which is not a fact. The allegation is false. All the Opposition members of the JPC participated in all the proceedings in the last 6 months,” he said.

Rijiju further said that all the dissent notes are attached in the Appendix of the report and the Opposition “cannot mislead the House”.

The Opposition staged a walkout from the House.