10 opposition MPs suspended after uproar at Waqf board parliamentary panel meet
Ten opposition MPs on Friday were suspended for a day following chaos during the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment Bill) 2024.
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 a ‘zamindari’, implying an authoritarian approach.
“We repeatedly requested the meeting to 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,” he said.
“The way the JPC is going on, it is unprecedented. The right of every opposition member are curtailed. Depositions are not given to us. We all rushed last night and we were told agenda has been changed. Chairman is a doll An investigation appointed by the Supreme Court should be done. All opposition MPs are being humiliated. Chairman considers us as domestic servants,” he added.