Jairam Ramesh accused the committee of bypassing a clause-by-clause discussion and ignoring dissenting voices from opposition MPs and alleged that the Waqf Amendment Bill was "bulldozed" through the JPC.
According to sources, many leaders questioned the "affordability and practicality" of holding simultaneous elections across the country. Some MPs alleged that the move was designed to benefit the ruling party rather than strengthen democratic processes.
"I thank all members of the committee for their positive attitude and for asking questions in the national interest. Doubts were cleared...We are working as a team," PP Chaudhary said.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala P Sandosh Kumar, wrote a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju regarding the impropriety of procedure in presenting the report of the Joint P
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday clarified that the dissent notes were included in the Joint Parliamentary Committee report over Waqf Amendment Bill and questioned the basis of opposition protest.
Amid opposition alleging that their dissent notes were not included in the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) report on the Waqf bill tabled in Parliament, Independent MP from Purnea Pappu Yadav said that the House will not function if issues brought up by the opposition are ignored.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till March 10 on Thursday with the JPC report on the Waqf Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament and the two Houses completing debate on the Union Budget with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replying to marathon discussion.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday alleged that the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill have been "rushing through" the report as they held "no clause-by-clause" discussion over it.
DMK MP Mohd Abdulla on Thursday said that his party will not accept the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf Bill. He added that portions of the Opposition's dissent notes were removed from the JPC report.
"Since I have been a part of the JPC, I can say with all conviction that the preparation of the 655 pages report has been a meticulous exercise... The government of PM Narendra Modi wants proper management of the Waqf properties," the MP told ANI.
Congress MP Imran Masood thinks the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is an attack on rights enshrined in the Constitution, suppressing the rights of minorities. The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was tabled in Lok Sabha before being tabled in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.