Waqf Amendment Bill: Ruckus in JPC, 10 MPs suspended

NEW DELHI: Ten opposition MPs were suspended for one day for creating a ruckus against the chairman's stance at a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Waqf Amendment Bill. There were verbal exchanges between the ruling party and opposition members. Opposition MPs created the ruckus accusing JPC Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal of unilaterally deciding the agenda of the meeting and postponing Saturday’s meeting to Monday.

The suspended MPs are Mohammad Javed, Nasir Hussain, and Imran Masood (Congress); Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque (Trinamool Congress); Mohammad Abdullah and A Raja (DMK); Maulana Mohibullah (Samajwadi Party); Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-U); and Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM).

The opposition had earlier alleged that the JPC’s proceedings were being expedited to present the report in Parliament ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. The current meeting followed these allegations. Opposition MPs had expressed dissent over the scheduling of meetings on Friday and Saturday.

They had demanded that the meeting be held on January 30 and 31, coinciding with their arrival in Delhi for the Parliament session. However, the chairman did not approve this request. The unilateral decision to postpone Saturday's meeting to Monday prompted protests from opposition members.

'Chairman thinks he is monarch of this country'
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee criticized the chairman’s "biased approach" and accused him of behaving like the monarch of this country. Congress MP Nasir Hussain alleged that the BJP was pressuring the JPC to present the report early to gain an advantage in the Delhi elections.