Waqf Bill: 10 Oppn MPs suspended after uproar at Parl panel meeting

Ten opposition MPs were suspended for a day on Friday following chaos during the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment Bill), 2024.

- VINAY KUMAR

The suspended MPs include Kalyan Banerjee, Md Jawaid, A. Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Nasir Hussain, Mohibullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haq, and Imran Masood.

After the meeting, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee criticised the committee's chairman, Jagdambika Pal, for allegedly disregarding opposition voices. Banerjee accused Pal of conducting the proceedings in a manner akin to "zamindari," implying an authoritarian approach.

"We repeatedly requested the meeting be held on January 30 and 31, but our requests were ignored. When we landed in Delhi last night, the subject of the meeting was changed. Initially, we were informed that the meeting would proceed clause by clause. What is happening inside feels like an undeclared emergency. They are rushing through things because of the Delhi elections-it is politically motivated. The chairman doesn't listen to anyone; it feels like 'zamindari. They show no respect for opposition members. This JPC has become a farce," Banerjee said.

The suspended MPs have written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking fair conduct of the proceedings.

"As we all felt humiliated, we stood and raised our voices democratically to have our demands heard. Meanwhile, the chairman spoke on the phone with somebody and, suddenly and surprisingly, he ordered our suspension while shouting," the suspended MPs said in their letter to the Speaker.

“The amendments proposed in the Bill are not only connected with the huge land banks of the Waqf Boards across the country but are also relevant to judicial pronouncements of the High Courts and Supreme Court,” they added.