"Censored dissent note on top of committee report": TMC MP Sushmita Dev on JPC's Waqf Bill report tabled in RS

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): TMC MP Sushmita Dev on Thursday raised concerns over the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf Bill presented in the Rajya Sabha, alleging that the dissent note was censored, with portions of it being hidden using "black ink or white paper."
Dev questioned the state of democracy in the country, emphasising that everyone's opinion must be visible for the nation to be considered democratic.
"If you see, they have censored using black ink or white paper the dissent note on top of the committee report, which has been tabled today. If we consider this country a democracy, then everyone's opinion must be visible. How can you hide our opinions? We have protested against this in Rajya Sabha today," the TMC MP said.
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.
Speaking to ANI, the JPC Chairman emphasised the committee toured the country to collect inputs before finalising 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.
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. 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. (ANI)