The report of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf bill was tabled in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha amid uproar on Thursday, with the proceedings briefly adjourned following a heated debate between the treasury and the Opposition benches. In Rajya Sabha the Opposition MPs led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that dissent notes were deleted from the report. Later in Lok Sabha Home Minister Amit Shah asserting the BJP has no objection to the Opposition's dissent notes being included without redaction, and asked the Speaker decide according to procedures.
When panel chairman Jagdambika Pal rose to table the report, Opposition members shouted slogans, which were countered by thumping of benches by the Treasury side. The Opposition members then staged a walkout, raising slogans against Pal. Amid noisy protests by the Opposition, Shah said, "Some opposition members have objected to their dissent notes not annexed fully. I wish to request you on behalf of my party that whatever their objections you can attach the same to the report as per parliamentary practice as you feel appropriate". "My party has no objection to it," he added.
The Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted the report on the draft legislation by a 15-11 majority vote. Earlier, reacting to Malikarjun Kharge's charges, at a press conference in Parliament House complex, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that certain portions which amounted to casting aspersions on the panel itself were redacted. "Some of the points which amount to casting aspersion on the committee itself have been removed. The chairman of the committee has powers to do so," he said, asserting, "Everything has been done as per rules," he said. Later redacted portions were also submitted to Rajya Sabha.
The report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled in Rajya Sabha by BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni, a member of the panel. The tabling of the report was followed by uproar by members from the Opposition benches. The clamour continued 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 and urged Kharge to ask the Opposition members to take their seats. As the uproar continued, the Upper House was adjourned till 11:20 am.
When the Upper House reconvened, the chairman read out the message from the president that she had received the expression of thanks by members of the Rajya Sabha on her address to a joint sitting of Parliament on January 31. When the chairman tried to proceed with the Zero Hour, Opposition members continued to protest and some MPs trooped into the well of the House.
Leader of the House JP Nadda regretted that the Rajya Sabha was not in order when the president's message was read out. Chairman Dhankhar said Samirul Islam, Nadimul Haque and M Mohamed Abdulla "created chaos and disruption in the House".
Kharge was then called to speak. The Congress chief said dissent notes from the Opposition MPs to the Waqf bill were redacted from the report."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", he said it should be withdrawn and sent 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's Tiruchi Siva and AAP's Sanjay Singh also objected to the alleged removal of dissent notes from the report. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju, however, denied the charge. "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 ministers Bhupender Yadav and Nirmala Sitharaman also accused the opposition parties of misleading the Upper House, prompting another heated exchange between the treasury and the opposition benches. The Congress' Syed Nasir Hussain accused Rijiju -- who is also the Union Minority Affairs Ainister -- of misleading the House and said, "My own dissent note has been redacted."
TMC member Saket Gokhale said it was not a "religious" but a "Constitutional issue". Rijiju reiterated that the report had all annexures and nothing was taken out. The opposition MPs then staged a walkout and the House proceeded with the Question Hour.