New Delhi: Opposition MPs on Thursday claimed the report of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf bill sought to open the floodgates for targeting land belonging to other religious groups. They also questioned redacting certain portions of the dissent notes submitted by Opposition members of the panel.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said certain portions that cast aspersions on the committee had been removed and added that it was done according to rules.
The report of the joint committee of Parliament on the (Amendment) Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid uproar on Thursday, with the proceedings briefly adjourned following a heated debate between the treasury and the opposition benches.
When the House reconvened, Opposition MPs said their dissent notes were redacted from the report while the government denied the charge. The Opposition members then staged a walkout.
The Congress’ Syed Nasir Hussain, a member of the panel, told reporters on the Parliament premises that the report was “completely biased and one-sided”. “Procedure was not followed in the meeting. Non-stakeholders were invited to present their views,” he said. Hussain claimed that 97-98 percent of stakeholders opposed the Bill while the non-stakeholders who had been called supported it.
“Minutes of the meetings were not provided, response of the witnesses was not provided. Presentations were not given to us on time. After the meetings with stakeholders, members were supposed to sit and discuss but that did not happen,” he said.
Several key issues were not addressed, Hussain alleged.
“Before the report was finalised, very little time was given to submit dissent. Yet, we submitted dissent notes. Key parts of the dissent notes were redacted, it is in the public domain,” he said.
“When we raised this issue, the minority affairs minister lied and said the dissent notes had not been redacted. We met the chairman and gave a memorandum with our complaint. This is a biased report,” Hussain said, referring to Rijiju, who also holds the minority affairs portfolio.
The Congress member, and several others from opposition parties, expressed apprehension that similar action might be taken in the future on properties under different religious bodies and groups. “Today it is Waqf, tomorrow it will be about gurdwara land, then temples... They want to snatch the land and give it to their friends,” he said. AAP’s Sanjay Singh, also a member of the panel, said rules were not followed during its meetings.
“I participated in the proceedings. It was turned into a joke, those who are not stakeholders were called and we, who were members of the panel, our perspectives, our dissent, was not even included in the report. It is a violation of parliamentary conventions,” he said.