NEW DELHI: Opposition MPs, who are part of Joint Parliamentary Committee examining Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, on Tuesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging “gross violation of parliamentary code of conduct and rules of procedure” by panel chairperson Jagdambika Pal during its meeting on Monday.
Several opposition MPs boycotted the committee’s sitting on Monday over the submission of former Karnataka State Minorities Commission chairperson Anwar Manippady, who named several opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and K Rahman Khan, in the alleged embezzlement of Waqf properties.Meanwhile, the JPC that met for the second consecutive day on Tuesday saw opposition members walk out following differences and alleging that derogatory remarks were made against them by a BJP member.
In their letter to Birla, opposition MPs alleged, “The proceedings of the committee were conducted in a biased and partisan manner by chairperson Jagdambika Pal.” The signatories to the letter included Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Imran Masood, Mohammad Jawed (Congress), Raja and Abdulla (DMK), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Owaisi (AIMIM), and Banerjee (TMC).
They claimed, “The invitation extended to Manippady to depose evidence before the committee by the chairperson is not within the scope and ambit of the committee.” They claimed Manippady circulated a note titled “Presentation on Waqf Amendment Bill 2012 based on Karnataka Waqf Scam report 2012” to the committee’s members. “The note contained no observations on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Instead, it was full of politically motivated allegations against leaders of the Karnataka Congress, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha),” the letter stated.
“Despite vehement protests, witness was allowed to speak by the chairperson,” they said. Opposition MPs also claimed Pal refused to provide adequate time to committee members to lodge protests.