Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain has accused the authorities of redacting parts of his dissent note on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, without his consent. Hussain voiced his strong disapproval on the social media platform X, alleging an attempt to suppress opposition voices in the process.
“As a Member of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, I submitted a detailed dissent note opposing the Bill. Shockingly, parts of my dissent note have been redacted without my knowledge! The Joint Committee on the Waqf Bill had already become a farce, but now they’ve gone even lower—censoring dissenting voices from Opposition MPs! What are they so scared of? Why this attempt to silence us?” Hussain wrote.
Meanwhile, the report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is scheduled to be presented in the Lok Sabha on February 3. As per the List of Business, Jagdambika Pal, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the committee’s final report in both Hindi and English versions. They will also table the record of evidence presented before the committee.
The report was officially handed over to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30, 2025. On the same day, Pal met with Speaker Birla to submit the committee’s final report.
The JPC adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill on January 29, but opposition leaders, including Hussain, submitted their dissent notes. The JPC had previously approved the Waqf Bill of 1995, incorporating 25 amendments across 14 clauses and sections.
JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal had earlier stated, “We have adopted the report and the amended revised bill. For the first time, we have included a provision ensuring that the benefits of Waqf will go to the marginalized, the poor, women, and orphans. Tomorrow, we will present this report to the Speaker.”
