"Included most of redacted dissent notes in JPC's report on Waqf Bill for LS": AIMIM Chief Owaisi

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): Following the uproar in the Upper House of the Parliament on Thursday, where the opposition alleged the removal of dissent notes from the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi stated that most of the redacted dissent notes have been included in JPC's report on the bill that would be tabled in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to reporters, Owaisi, who was also a member of the JPC, stated that he, along with several MPs, met the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to discuss the matter of the redacted portions of their dissent notes in the JPC report.
Following this, the Speaker directed the Parliament Secretary-General to include their dissent notes as per the rules permitted, and the MPs re-included most of the redacted pages in the report, which was to be presented in the Lok Sabha at 2 pm, Owaisi stated.
"Today, a group of Lok Sabha MPs, which included A Raja, Kalyan Banerjee, Imran Masood, Mohammad Jawed, Gaurav Gogoi, and me, went to meet the Speaker. We told him that many pages and paragraphs of our dissent notes have been redacted from the JPC report. He was kind enough to ask the Secretary-General to include in our dissent notes whatever the rules permitted," the AIMIM Chief said.
"Later, we sat in the parliamentary library and included most of the redacted pages in the report, which will be presented in the Lok Sabha at 2 pm... The paragraphs that expressed aspersions on the working of the committee were not included since they were against the rules," he added.
Earlier today, Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, opposed the JPC report on the Waqf Bill, alleging that dissent notes from Opposition members were removed.
Kharge said that it is not right to remove the dissent notes and views of the Opposition members from the report.
"In the JPC report on the Waqf Board, many members have their dissent report. It is not right to remove those notes and bulldoze our views. This is anti-democratic and condemnable. Stockholders were called from outside, and their statements were taken. I condemn any report that has been presented after deleting the dissent reports. We will never accept such fake reports. If the report does not have dissent views, it should be sent back and presented again," Kharge said.
Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, hit back at the opposition, calling their protest "irresponsible."
"Inside the Parliament, there are debates and discussions on various issues, and within a democracy, we agree to disagree, but we must respect traditions. While keeping traditions in mind, the proceedings of the house should be conducted under the provisions of the Constitution," he said.
"I regret that despite repeated requests from the chairman, the opposition's behaviour has been extremely irresponsible, and it deserves all the condemnation it receives," Nadda added.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar also warned TMC MPs Samirul Islam, Nadimul Haque, and DMK MP Mohammed Abdullah for disrupting proceedings.
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)