JPC Report On Waqf Bill To Be Presented In Lok Sabha On 3 February; Opposition Alleges Censorship

The Parliamentary Joint Committee’s report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday (3 February), India Today reported.

Meanwhile, an opposition member of the panel has claimed that portions of his dissent note were omitted without his consent.

As per the List of Business, the report will be presented by Jagdambika Pal, chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal.

The report will be presented in both Hindi and English, along with documented evidence given before the committee.

The committee had already submitted the report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on 30 January.

The JPC adopted the draft report and the amended bill on Wednesday, January 29. Opposition leaders submitted dissent notes on the report.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain, a member of the committee, has alleged that parts of his dissent note on the bill were redacted without his knowledge.

Calling it an attempt to suppress opposition voices, Hussain posted on X, "As a Member of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, I had submitted a detailed dissent note opposing the Bill. Shockingly, parts of my dissent note have been redacted without my knowledge!"

"The Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was already reduced to a farce, but now they’ve stooped even lower—censoring dissenting voices of Opposition MPs! What are they so scared of? Why this attempt to silence us?" he asked.

The committee had previously approved amendments to the Waqf Bill, 1995, with 25 amendments across 14 clauses and sections.

Tfhe Waqf Act of 1995 regulates Waqf properties and has been criticised for issues such as mismanagement and encroachments.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to introduce reforms, including digitisation, enhanced audits, and legal mechanisms to reclaim occupied properties.

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