Opposition has to fight for curtailed rights of Speaker: Akhilesh Yadav
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New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday asserted that Opposition would have to fight for the rights of the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla alleging that they were being slashed, NDTV reported.
The Kannauj MP raised the allegation during a debate on the controversial the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
‘Your rights and our rights are being curtailed. I had told you that you are the judge of democracy. I have heard that some of your rights are being snatched and we would have to fight for you,’ he was quoted as saying.
The Union Home Minister responded to the Samajwadi Party chief terming his allegation an insult of the Chair, adding that ‘The rights of the Speaker do not belong to the Opposition, but to the whole House. Don't speak in a roundabout way. You are not the protector of the Speaker's rights.’
Reacting to Yadav, Birla said: ‘This is my expectation, no personal remarks should be made on the Chair.’
Yadav alleged that the bill was brought in as part of a politics, adding: "When there is a democratic process for election, why nominate people? No person from outside the community is part of other religious bodies. What is the point of including non-Muslims in Waqf bodies?"
Yadav alleged the BJP was aiming to appease some hardline supporters after its setback in the Lok Sabha election.
Opposition parties have come together against the legislation which proposes to amend 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act, to address issues linked to powers of State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of Waqf properties and removal of encroachment.