CPI MP Accuses Government of Procedural Impropriety on Waqf Amendment Bill

Kerala's CPI MP, P Sandosh Kumar, accuses the government of procedural impropriety related to the Joint Parliamentary Committee's report on the Waqf Amendment Bill. Missing dissent notes sparked opposition outrage, with accusations of the executive influencing parliamentary processes.

P Sandosh Kumar, a Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, has accused the Indian government of derailing parliamentary procedures in the presentation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee's (JPC) report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, addressing Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju in a letter.

The CPI MP claims that when the JPC report was presented to Lok Sabha Speaker on January 30, 2025, dissent notes from some members were conspicuously absent, causing uproar amongst the opposition. Despite a subsequent Corrigendum, the published report did not acknowledge it, hinting at possible post-facto modifications. No record of the changes is apparent in the proceedings or online documentation, Kumar alleges.

Kumar further argues that publishing the report without these notes misrepresents facts and misleads both Parliament and the public. He criticizes the Home Minister's remarks on the ruling party's stance as authoritarian, questioning the necessity of government approval for JPC reports. This incident, he claims, reveals the executive's undue influence over Parliament, contradicting its independence.

(With inputs from agencies.)