NEW DELHI: Amid opposition uproar in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the House extended the tenure of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill till the last day of the Budget session next year. The Bill was earlier listed by the govt for discussion and passage in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
Barring the extension of the JPC’s tenure, proceedings of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were almost washed out for the third day with opposition members demanding suspension of business to discuss allegations of corruption against the Adani group, the violence in UP’s Sambhal and the continuing ethnic strife in Manipur.
The Lower House was first adjourned for an hour soon after it assembled, and later at 12 noon, the Chair adjourned it for the day, after the extension of the JPC’s tenure was approved by a voice vote.
The JPC, headed by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, had reached a consensus to extend the tenure from Nov 29 to the last day of the budget session after opposition MPs walked out of the committee’s meeting on Wednesday, when Pal had said the panel’s report was ready for tabling in Parliament. While BJP has said the amendments proposed in the Bill will bring transparency and accountability in the functioning of Waqf boards, opposition parties have said they are targeted against the Muslim community and violate its religious rights.
As the uproar continued in Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the opposition members for not letting the House transact business, despite the govt cooperating with them on extending the JPC’s tenure and agreeing to hold discussion on other issues. “I condemn the attempts by Congress and its allies in disrupting House proceedings,” he said.
In Rajya Sabha, opposition MPs, including from Congress and CPM, had submitted 16 notices for adjournment of scheduled business under Rule 267, but chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected all of them. The Lok Sabha Speaker, too, rejected all adjournment motions moved by the opposition.
“Parliamentary disruption is not a remedy, it’s a malady. It weakens our foundation. It slides Parliament into irrelevance. The sanctity of this House demands debate, not discord; dialogue, not disruption,” Dhankhar said. With a vociferous opposition in no mood to relent, he first adjourned Rajya Sabha till 12 noon, and then for the day.