Waqf Bill accepted in Rajya Sabha amid strong Opposition protests

Despite a strong protest from the Opposition INDIA bloc, the report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was accepted in the Rajya Sabha shortly after being tabled by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Thursday. However, amid strong protests by Opposition parties, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar was forced to adjourn the house proceedings briefly. 

 

The Waqf Bill on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims to streamline the registration of Waqf properties, was tabled by the Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni. 

Opposition’s claim of ‘dissent’ removal

During the debate on the report on the amended Waqf Bill, the Opposition said that dissent notes in the report by Opposition MPs were removed and restored to sloganeering. The Opposition MPs also walked out from the Rajya Sabha during the discussion. 

 

Registering his strong dissatisfaction on the Waqf Bill report, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition would not accept “fake reports” that “bulldoze our views”. 

 

Furthermore, the Kharge demanded that the report should be sent back to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and presented again. “In the JPC report, many members have their dissent report. It is not right to remove those notes and bulldoze our views. This is anti-democracy... We will never accept such fake reports. If the report does not have dissenting views, it should be sent back and presented again,” Kharge said.

 

However, countering Kharge’s claims, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the dissent notes were included in the report’s appendix and accused the opposition of misleading the House. “There’s no deletion or removal from the report... The opposition is making an unnecessary issue,” he said.

 

What are the changes in the Waqf Bill?

 

The Bill includes some key changes, like having at least two non-Muslim members on state Waqf boards and involving a government official to decide if a property is Waqf property or not.

 

The Waqf Bill aims to change how Waqf boards are managed. These boards are responsible for overseeing properties donated by the Muslim community for religious and charitable purposes.

 

The final report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was given to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30, after several months of discussion. The revised bill, with 14 changes suggested by the ruling NDA members, was approved, while the opposition’s suggestions were rejected.

 

[With inputs from agencies]