New Delhi, 13 February: Congress President and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, has denounced the Joint Parliamentary Committee’s (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “fake” and called on Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to return it to the JPC. Kharge alleged that dissenting notes from opposition members were omitted from the report, a claim that sparked significant objections from the treasury benches.

In his address to the Rajya Sabha, Kharge stated, “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-democracy… 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…”

In response, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted that no dissent notes were removed from the JPC report. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of misleading the House and disrupting parliamentary proceedings, stating, “I have checked the concerns raised by the Opposition. There is no deletion or removal from the report. Everything is on the floor of the House. On what basis can such an issue be raised? The members of the Opposition are creating an unnecessary issue, which is not a fact. The allegation is false. The JPC conducted entire proceedings as per the rules… All the Opposition members of the JPC participated in all the proceedings in the last 6 months… All the dissent notes are attached in the Appendix of the report… They cannot mislead the House…”

The JPC report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha today. It was initially scheduled for presentation during the Winter Session but was delayed to allow the committee to complete its assessment, particularly in northern regions. The findings include inputs from various stakeholders, along with dissenting opinions where applicable.

This development follows recent tensions within the JPC. Opposition MPs have previously boycotted committee meetings, alleging that the panel is not functioning in accordance with rules and expressing concerns over violations of parliamentary conduct. They have also raised objections to the inclusion of certain depositions and the manner in which proceedings have been conducted.