Opposition members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Modification) Invoice on Monday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accusing the committee’s chair, Jagdambika Pal, of “bulldozing” its proceedings. Additionally they threatened to disassociate themselves from the panel saying they “have been stonewalled”.
The letter mentioned “the Chairman of the Committee used to take unilateral choices on fixing the dates of sittings even for consecutive three days, the place individuals/our bodies to be known as as witness, which isn’t virtually potential for MPs to work together with preparation”.
“We the Members of the JPC from opposition really feel that the structure of the JPC, i.e. a mini Parliament, shouldn’t be handled as a mere ventilating chamber to get the Invoice handed as desired by the Authorities ignoring the Parliamentary course of through the use of the so-called ‘majority’ undemocratically. Therefore, it’s our responsibility to deliver to your discover with ache that bulldozing the proceedings of the JPC with out assigning cheap and believable time pause as in opposition to the need of the Members is nothing however an act of atrocious onslaught on the Constitutional faith and the Parliament,” learn the letter.
“It’s subsequently prayed that the Chairman of the JPC might kindly be directed to have a proper session with members of the Committee earlier than taking choices on these points to guarantee the Nation that the Committee is truthful and free in arriving conclusions on the Invoice with none bias and departure from the nicely established Parliamentary procedures. In any other case, we humbly submit that we could also be compelled to disassociate with JPC as soon as [and] for all as we’ve been stonewalled,” learn the letter, signed by members akin to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, TMC member Kalyan Banerjee and Congress member Mohammad Jawed, amongst others.
In regards to the proposed Invoice, the letter mentioned the Opposition members “consider that the authorized train carried out by the Authorities by this Invoice is nothing however a surreptitious try and mitigate the sooner legislations, made by Parliament with due care, which make sure the secular credentials of our Structure”.
