Oppn MPs in Waqf bill P'liamentary committee to boycott meetings
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Kolkata: The Opposition MPs in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill have decided to boycott its meeting across five cities. They decided to boycott the first meeting, which was scheduled for Saturday, The Indian Express reported.
The mentioned Opposition MPs include those from the Congress, the DMK, the TMC (Trinamool Congress), the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) and the Samajwadi Party. They accuse the JPC chairman, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, of violating ethics, acting with a specific agenda and turning the JPC proceedings into a mockery.
On Thursday, TMC MP Kalyan Bandopadhyay told the press that the boycott was decided after the Opposition MPs wrote to and met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. They submitted before the Speaker that Pal was arbitrarily fixing meetings from morning to night and “being high-handed”. Kalyan said that though Birla agreed that the meetings were hectic and said he would consider deferring them, nothing was done.
Bandopadhyay continued that Pal is calling people from organisations to the meeting as he wishes. These invitees included those who are very close to the BJP and have no stakes in the functioning of the Waqf bill. Also, these invitees are higher in number than those who have stakes in terms of percentage.
He further said that the chairman is working with an agenda and not for the national interest. So, the Opposition members decided to boycott the upcoming meeting scheduled from November 9 onwards, when the members are scheduled to attend meetings in 5 cities in six days.
According to Bandopadhyay, the Opposition MPs had pointed out earlier that the chairman never held a meeting or consulted them. He reminded me that he has Jagadhatri puja in his constituency as well as by-polls. In Jharkhand, there are elections, too, and they have to move around the country.
The JPC was formed to reform the Waqf Act of 1995 to ensure that waqf properties are used for the “greater good of the community”. However, the act, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has been facing allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments, The Indian Express reported.