Procedures should be followed...10 MPs suspended from JPC wrote letter to Lok Sabha Speaker
The opposition members involved in the Joint Committee (JPC) of Parliament related to the Waqf Amendment Bill on Friday accused the committee chairman Jagdambika Pal of arbitrariness and violation of rules and procedures and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to intervene. After the suspension of the MPs, the opposition members wrote a letter to Birla and addressed a joint press conference.
Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, "It has never been seen that 10 opposition members have been suspended from JPC together
After the opposition members involved in the committee meeting were suspended for a day, the opposition MPs wrote a letter to Birla and asked him to direct Pal to conduct the proceedings of the committee in a transparent and fair manner.
MP wrote a letter to Birla and addressed a joint press conference
They have also sought time to meet Birla. They also demanded the postponement of the next meeting of the committee proposed on January 27. Ten opposition members who were present in the committee meeting were suspended for a day on Friday after they protested against chairman Jagadambika Pal and alleged arbitrariness in procedures.
The suspended members include Kalyan Banerjee and Nadeem-ul Haque (Trinamool Congress), Mohammad Javed, Imran Masood and Syed Nasir Hussain (Congress), A Raja and Mohammad Abdullah (DMK), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Mohibullah (SP) and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT).
10 opposition members, suspended from JPC together
After the suspension of these MPs, the opposition members wrote a letter to Birla and addressed a joint press conference. Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, "It has never been seen that 10 opposition members have been suspended from JPC together.
Opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament and now the same process is seen in the committee." He claimed that the dates of the committee meetings are announced without giving prior notice.
Gogoi said, "It seems that a pre-determined framework is being followed, and parliamentary procedures and rules are being violated." He said, "Members were supposed to discuss various points and study the answers to the questions, that stage was skipped, and a clause-wise discussion was decided.
Parliamentary procedures and rules are being violated
We have opposed this." Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed that opposition members were insulted in the parliamentary committee and there was haste in accepting the report in view of the Delhi assembly elections. He said that there should be an investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court as to from whom Pal is taking orders at the top level in the (Central) government.
Congress member Syed Nasir Hussain said that whatever the people who appeared before the committee have said, needs to be studied in detail. He questioned whether this haste was done to move the process forward for the Delhi elections?
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said, "This is a very sensitive issue.
If the government 'bulldozes' this bill in Parliament, it will have a very bad effect." He said, "It is regrettable to say that the process being adopted is wrong. We urge the Lok Sabha Speaker to intervene in this matter." In a letter to Birla, the opposition members made a detailed mention of the committee's proceedings and dialogue in the last few days and claimed that the committee meeting was called on January 24, while the opposition members had requested to call the meeting a few days later.
He said, "The amendments proposed in the bill are not only related to the vast land property of Waqf Boards across the country but are also relevant in the context of judicial orders of the High Courts / Supreme Court. The rules and laws framed by various state governments in this regard are also a challenge, which has created a conflict of interest.''
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Comprehensive study by the JPC is essentially required to resolve these issues raised by the stakeholders holistically.
He says, "In these circumstances, the hasty conduct of the JPC proceedings by the Chairman of the Committee without thinking is nothing but a puzzle filled with hidden malice. It is our opinion that the Chairman of the JPC does not have the power to suspend the members of the Committee."
Summary
The Chairman of the JPC should be directed to conduct the proceedings in a transparent and fair manner. The Chairman of the Committee should postpone the proposed meeting on January 27 so that the opposition members get sufficient time and opportunity to put forward arguments/claims without deviating from the rules and procedure.
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