Parliament Budget Session 2025 Highlights: Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha adjourned till March 10

Corrigendum containing opposition's dissent notes on JPC's Waqf Bill report tabled in Rajya Sabha.

“I just want to highlight that in Budget 2021, we brought in the element of transparency and strengthening cooperative federalism,” Says Nirmala Sitharaman.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman replies to the general discussion on Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha.

Clarifying the government's stance on dissent notes by opposition members of the Waqf JPC, Union home minister Amit Shah said the government has ‘no opposition’ if dissent notes are added to the JPC report on the Waqf Amendment Bill.

“The committee started its deliberations today. The chairman was very kind to allow members of the committee to raise if they had any concerns regarding this issue. Several members cutting across party lines raised this issue and expressed the need to actually take strong, stringent measures to ensure that such things do not recur. The chairman has also taken a very strong view of this. The committee is seized of the matter, and the representatives from the ministry were also there in this committee meeting, and this matter has been taken up at the highest level,” says BJD MP Sasmit Patra.

“If the Opposition has brought up this issue (dissent notes note included in report), and on it, the Union home minister has said that his party has no objections to including these dissent notes. The Speaker said that the dissent notes would be included. This is like the Speaker's direction. Is it not wrong to walk out even after this?” says BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.

“If they agree to our dissent notes, then we will also agree with them,” says Congress MP Imran Masood.

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On Opposition allegations that parts of dissent notes were blurred, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the whole report has been presented, and the annexure has also been presented in the House.

“If the dissent notes cast aspersion on the committee, then the chairman has the power to remove it if needed. The chairman has this power as per the rules. If the members think that something should not have been removed, they can ask the chairman,” he added.

“It is not right to call the JPC report illegal and unconstitutional. It is not the NDA's report; it is the report of the Parliament. All dissent reports are included in the report which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha and will be tabled in the Lok Sabha,” Rijiju further said.

On the Waqf JPC report, which is to be submitted on Thursday, DMK MP and Waqf JPC member Mohammed Abdullah claimed that the procedure had not been followed properly.

“The procedures have not been followed properly. They have rushed all the meetings and overruled all the regulations. Even a single amendment from the Opposition was not adopted. The portion of our dissent notes was deleted. They will go for lands of other religious places soon,” said Abdullah.

Regarding the JPC report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, JMM MP Mahua Maji on Thursday said, "The INDIA Alliance staged a walkout against the report of the JPC on the Waqf Amendment Bill. The JPC has been biased. Today, the government is eyeing the land belonging to the Waqf; tomorrow, they will grab the properties of other religions."

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Thursday called for a reconsideration and pause of the Joint Parliamentary Committee's report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, citing that it has rejected all the suggestions given by the Opposition.

Speaking to ANI, Tiwari pointed out that the JPC has no purpose if it accepts all the suggestions given by the ruling party.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday reached the Parliament. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm amid a ruckus over the Waqf Bill report as well opposition's protest against the allocation of the Khavda Renewable Energy Project in Gujarat.

Most of the opposition leaders on Thursday staged a walkout of Rajya Sabha after the presentation of JPC's Waqf Bill report in the upper house.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha today amid ruckus and continuous sloganeering from opposition members.

Over the JPC report on the Waqf Bill, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said that the entire opposition is united against the report.

“We are opposing this bill. The entire opposition is united on this. There may be some parties from the ruling side which might be with us on this,” said Yadav.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday, while addressing the Rajya Sabha, said that there is no deletion or removal of any kind from the final report tabled by JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

“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,” said Rijiju.

“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,” he added.

Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a demonstration in Parliament House premises on Thursday over the issues of animal attacks in Kerala and protection of coastal areas from sand mining.

"Since December 27, 11 people have been killed by wild animals in Wayanad. It is a very worrisome situation," Priyanka Gandhi told reporters.

In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the final report of JPC's Waqf (Amendment) Bill was submitted without the dissent report of the members.

"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," said Kharge.

The Rajya Sabha proceeding resumed after it was adjourned briefly on Thursday amid uproar by opposition parties after tabling of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

The report was tabled by BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni, a member of the panel.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday paid floral tribute to freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu on her birth anniversary.

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 11:20 am amid uproar by the opposition after tabling the joint committee of Parliament report on the Waqf bill.

The proceedings of the upper house will resume shortly.

The Lok Sabha is adjourned till 2 pm after the Opposition raised slogans against the JPC report regarding the Waqf Amendment Bill

Congress MPs including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi protest to protect coastal and forest bordering communities, Kerala, in Parliament House complex.