TCN News
Despite widespread opposition protests, the Rajya Sabha accepted the joint committee’s report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar had to temporarily adjourn the meeting on Thursday due to massive uproar.
The report aims to strengthen the management and administration of Waqf properties across the country. The JPC report’s recommendations, if implemented, are expected to have far-reaching implications for the management and administration of Waqf properties.
Opposition MPs said that parts of the dissent notes were taken out and that sloganeering was used as soon as Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni presented the Bill report. During the debate on the report, the opposition finally staged a walkout of the Rajya Sabha.
Introduced in 2019, the Waqf Bill aims to control and oversee Waqf properties, which are estimated to be valued more than ₹1.5 lakh crore. The Bill seeks to guarantee transparency, responsibility, and efficient administration.
The Bill, however, has drawn harsh criticism from the opposition, who claim that it was rushed through the JPC without sufficiently addressing their issues. They assert that the 281-page dissenting notes were removed from the JPC report.
“Fake reports” that “bulldoze our views” would not be tolerated, said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. This goes against democracy. He insisted on the report being returned to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for a re-presentation.
Kharge also had the support of several INDIA bloc MPs. Arvind Sawant, a Sena (UBT) MP, asserted that the JPC never had clause-by-clause debates. “The dissent note we provided has been removed,” he remarked.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju refuted Kharge’s assertions, claiming that the dissent notes were included in the report’s appendix and accusing the opposition of deceiving the House.
JP Nadda, the head of the BJP and a union minister, claimed that “some were trying to fight the Indian state” in apparent allusion to Rahul Gandhi’s divisive statement from the previous year. Gandhi had claimed last year that the Congress was fighting the “Indian state” in addition to the BJP and the RSS.
“Will you keep it shut?” Dhankhar asked the opposition as the disturbances persisted. As both sides of the aisle fought over the controversial law and the JPC report, his comments exacerbated the already rising tensions in the Upper House.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, also commented on the dispute and charged that the opposition had misled the House. She criticized the opposition MPs for their constant attempts to confuse the situation and sabotage the proceedings.
It is anticipated that the government will take the JPC report’s suggestions into account and revise the Waqf Bill as needed. The management and administration of Waqf properties in India are anticipated to be significantly impacted by the Bill’s passing with the suggested amendments.