The joint parliamentary committee's report on the Waqf bill, according to opposition MPs on Thursday, aims to allow for the exploitation of land owned by other religious communities. They also questioned whether some of the dissenting notes that the panel's opposition members had supplied should be redacted.
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, stated that some of the material that was disparaging about the committee had been eliminated and that it was carried out in compliance with the regulations.
In the midst of a furious argument between the opposition and treasury benches, the Rajya Sabha temporarily postponed Thursday's sessions after the joint committee of Parliament's report on the (Amendment) Bill was presented.
Opposition MPs claimed that their dissenting remarks had been removed from the report when the House met again, and the government refuted the accusation. A walkout was then organized by the opposing members.
The Congress' Panelist Syed Nasir Hussain was "completely biased and one-sided" when he addressed reporters on the Parliament grounds.
"The meeting did not go according to protocol. He stated that non-stakeholders were asked to share their opinions.
According to Hussain, 97–98% of stakeholders were against the bill, but the non-stakeholders who were contacted were in favor of it.
"Neither the meeting minutes nor the witnesses' responses were supplied. We did not receive our presentations on time. Members were meant to sit down and talk after the stakeholder meetings, but that didn't happen," he added.
Hussain claimed that a number of important concerns were ignored.
"Very little time was allowed to submit criticism before the report was finalized. We did, however, send disagreement notes. He said that although important portions of the dissenting notes were removed, they were still in the public domain.
"The minority affairs minister falsely claimed that the dissent notes had not been removed when we brought up this problem. We presented a memorandum containing our grievance to the chairman. "This report is biased," Hussain remarked, alluding to Rijiju, who is also in charge of minority affairs.
The member of Congress and a number of other opposition party members voiced concern that similar actions could be taken on assets owned by various religious organizations and groups in the future.
Waqf is today; tomorrow, gurdwara land will be discussed, followed by temples. He remarked, "They want to take the land and give it to their friends."
A bill to prevent encroachment on Waqf properties was withdrawn, according to TMC member Nadimul Haque, who also denounced the news.
"On one hand, they are saying they want to save Waqf land... on the other hand, they withdrew that bill," he stated.
"I served on the committee as well, and the dissenting opinion we provided was suppressed and redacted. According to the minister, everything was done in accordance with the regulations. They must specify which rule these passages were redacted under," he stated.
According to Haque, if the Bill were to become law, it would have an impact on millions of Indians. "We will continue to oppose the Bill."
Sanjay Singh of the AAP, who is also on the panel, claimed that throughout its discussions, the norms were broken.
"I took part in the activities. It was made into a farce, people who weren't involved were contacted, and as panel members, our opinions and opposition weren't even mentioned in the report. Parliamentary conventions are being broken," he declared.
"History will not pardon us; this is the start of grabbing land for mosques and dargahs... "The Modi administration wants to give Adani and a few capitalists all of the property," he stated.
Singh was echoed by Mahua Maji of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
"Waqf land is being targeted by the government... In the days ahead, this will also occur with other religions," she stated.
Pramod Tiwari of the Congress stated: "We want to preserve the country, and we know that the Waqf has arrived today. Next up will be gurdwaras, followed by temples, churches, etc. The INDIA alliance is working to safeguard the rights of various religions in the nation.
Rijiju praised the panel's work and refuted the opposition's claim that their disagreement notes were redacted.
"A few opposition MPs objected, claiming that their dissent notes had been removed. The annexure and report have been tabled. The chairman has the authority to remove any parts of the dissent note that contain criticism of the committee that the chairman believes are incorrect. At a press conference, he stated, "It is stated in the regulations."
"It is wrong to say the dissent notes are not included in the report," he stated.
