Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned until March 10 on Thursday after the tabling of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the completion of debates on the Union Budget, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman providing her reply to the discussions.
The JPC report was presented in both Houses, with BJP MP Jagdambika Pal tabling it in Lok Sabha and MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni doing the same in Rajya Sabha. Additionally, they submitted records of evidence presented before the panel on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Opposition members protested in Lok Sabha, claiming that their dissent notes were not fully included in the report. Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded by stating that the government had no objection to incorporating the opposition’s dissent notes into the report through the appropriate parliamentary process. Speaker Om Birla assured that concerns raised by opposition members had been accommodated in the annexure of the report.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the New Income Tax Bill, 2025, in Lok Sabha, aiming to simplify tax laws, modernize definitions, and provide more clarity for taxpayers. The bill seeks to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961, with updated provisions affecting individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Sitharaman proposed sending the bill to a select committee for further review.
In Rajya Sabha, the tabling of the JPC report led to an adjournment following opposition protests. Allegations and counter-allegations were exchanged between the opposition and the treasury benches, with both sides accusing each other of misleading the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that no alterations had been made to the report, dismissing opposition claims as false.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge strongly objected to the alleged removal of dissent notes, stating, “It is not right to remove those notes and bulldoze our views. This is anti-democratic and condemnable.” He demanded that the report be sent back and reintroduced with the dissent views included.
The budget session commenced with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive budget on February 1. The session will reconvene on March 10 and conclude on April 4.