Pal defends deletion of parts of Oppn's dissent on Waqf report

BJP lawmaker and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) discussing the Waqf Bill, Jagdambika Pal, responded to claims by opposition leaders that only edited versions of their dissent notes were carried and said that the substantive parts of their objections were carried; "personal abuses" weren't, and that after the adoption of the report, there is no scope for changes.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI:

The JPC adopted the report by a 15-11 majority on January 29.

On Monday, Opposition lawmakers alleged that the panel ignored representations from stakeholders, depositions of witnesses, and their own submissions. Pal told HT that the panel fulfilled its duty, spoke to a wide range of stakeholders and held 38 meetings to discuss the bill.