Waqf JPC: Opposition MPs protest haste, call panel chief ‘autocrat’

New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) Eleven Opposition MPs in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 on Monday hit out at the ‘autocratic’ behaviour of Chairman Jagdambika Pal and his haste in accepting the 14 amendments proposed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members.

The MPs, anguished by the alleged lack of transparency and discussion in the Committee, likened the Chairman to a painter who enabled the Union government to give ‘saffron colour to this secular nation by using its brutal majority in Parliament’.

In a joint statement, the Opposition MPs said, “As the committee has arrived at its closure part of the deliberation, we the members of the opposition registered our protest then and there both in conducting the proceedings of the JWC by the chairman as well the gross and serious deviations from the rules and procedures contemplated thereon.”

Citing several instances of being denied the time to study documents, the MPs said they want to highlight a few wilful and wanton ‘disregards by the Chairman in sharing the details of deliberations of the Committee.

Objecting to the haste in the panel’s proceedings on Monday, the MPs slammed the Chairman for going ahead with clause-by-clause considerations without documents/depositions.

“Ignoring our claims, the chairman himself called the names of the mover of the amendments (given by us) and he himself moved the amendments on our behalf and conducted the head counts on his own desire. And he announced the rejection of our amendments, thereby, our sincere efforts to protect the constitutional assurances given to the minorities are being defeated,” wrote the MPs.

The awkward and solo acting of the Chairman himself for all the stakeholders of today's sitting made him a painter to enable the Union government to give saffron colour to this secular nation by using its brutal majority in the Parliament, the statement said.

The signatories of the statement are Kalyan Banerjee, Mohammad Jawed, A. Raja, Gaurav Gogoi, Asaduddin Owaisi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohibbullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haque, and Imran Masood.

Expressing their helplessness in preventing the so-called lapses in the Committee, the MPs reached out to the people to protect the rights of minorities.

“We, the members of the opposition appeal to the people of India who stand for the constitutional values to come forward to preserve the labour and conviction put by our forefathers Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Vallabhbhai Patel and others in the national building process with secular credentials and to protect the rights of minorities ensuring the social harmony of this sub-continent,” said the letter.

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