New Delhi

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday amid ruckus and continuous sloganeering from opposition members.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni presented the report. She also tabled a copy of the record of evidence given before the panel on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The JPC report's presentation was followed by uproar in the Upper House of the Parliament, leading to the adjournment of the session till 11.20 am. However, soon after the proceedings were resumed, the house again witnessed the disruption from the opposition MPs.

Earlier today, Jagadambika Pal, BJP MP and Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said that the JPC will present its report in Parliament after six months of nationwide consultations.

The JPC Chairman emphasized the committee toured the country to collect inputs before finalizing the report, which included the adoption of 25 amendments across 14 clauses.

"Today, the JPC will produce its report in the Parliament. To have a detailed discussion and deliberation, the JPC was formed six months ago. In the last six months, we have prepared a report after touring the whole nation. We have adopted 25 amendments in 14 clauses," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that instead of focusing on the already available Waqf Act, an attempt is being made to bring a politically motivated amendment.

Gogoi asserted that several members of parliament have expressed their dissent in the JPC report, highlighting the constitutional negligence caused by this bill.

"Currently, there is an act that manages Waqf properties, and instead of focusing on how the government can better implement this act, an attempt has been made to bring a politically motivated amendment," he said.

Congress MP KC Venugopal also slammed the Centre and said that the way in which the JPC conducted, it "was wrong."

The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill on January 29.

However, opposition leaders submitted their dissent notes on the report.

Trinamool Congress MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Md Nadimul Haque, who were members of the panel, had protested "the expunction of key portions of their dissent notes" submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Banerjee and Haque alleged that the committee's conclusions were biased and predetermined and claimed that the committee ignored stakeholder representations, witness depositions, and submissions made by opposition members.

The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.

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The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.