New Delhi: Opposition MPs who were suspended by Waqf committee chairman Jagdambika Pal said that the committee was being run in a “dictatorial” way after he suspended 10 of them from the committee on Friday (January 24) over “protests”, reported the Indian Express.
The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) has been formed to look into the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The Hindu reported that in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the same day following the suspension, opposition MPs said that they had put forth their “reasonable claims” in a “civilised manner”, and alleged that the suspension came after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pal got a phone call during the meeting.
In a statement issued on January 25, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also lashed out at the suspension of opposition members by the panel chairman, saying that it was based on “flimsy grounds”, PTI reported.
Suspension for ‘protest’
As per a report by the Hindu, a notice issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat on January 20 directed the Waqf committee members to submit their amendments to the legislation within 48 hours. It also called for a meeting to discuss the legislation clause-by-clause on January 24 and 25.
Late on Thursday night, the members received a revised notice informing them that the panel would hear the views of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Friday’s meeting, the clause-by-clause analysis would be postponed to January 27 and the meeting on January 25 was cancelled.
As per the Hindu, members raised their concerns against the “unilateral” and “unfair manner of functioning” of the panel as soon as the meeting began; however, Pal ignored their pleas. Pal accused the opposition members of “unruly behaviour” and said that they were suspended only after the meeting was adjourned twice to bring order, the Hindu reported.
The opposition MPs then wrote a letter to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, saying that Pal, in an interview to a news agency, had said even before their Friday meeting that the report by the JPC would be circulated on January 29 without consulting other members. They also alleged that the suspension came only after BJP leader Pal got a phone call during the meeting.
‘Nothing but dictatorship’
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant told the Indian Express that it appeared that the chairman had become a “tool”, as he got “calls from above”. He also told the paper that the panel was being run in a “distorted way”.
Opposition MPs had asked for more time to submit their comments on the amendment, as it was an important Bill. However, the BJP’s rush to prepare the report before the Delhi elections raises questions of intent, several MPs told The Indian Express.
“This is nothing but dictatorship,” the Express quoted Congress MP Mohammed Jawed, who was among the suspended committee members, as saying.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the CPI(M) also lashed out at the suspension of opposition members by the panel chairman, saying that it was based on “flimsy grounds”, PTI reported. In its statement the party appealed to those who cherish democracy to oppose the “brazen act”.
“Nothing could be more brazen to undermine the legitimate parliamentary process through the committee system, which has been so clearly laid down and reinforced over the years through precedents,” the party’s statement read, as per PTI.
