New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Sparks flew between the BJP and opposition members over TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s unruly conduct at a sitting of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf bill, with the ruling party seeking his immediate suspension from Lok Sabha and the DMK, AIMIM and AAP targeting committee chairman Jagdambika Pal for “going public” about the proceedings of the meeting.
Pal, a seasoned politician, rejected the opposition charge, contending that he had only made a statement to the media on the incident of violence involving Banerjee at the sitting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) member’s subsequent suspension.
“I have always adhered to the rules of parliamentary procedure and upheld the dignity of the House,” Pal told PTI.
Banerjee had smashed a glass bottle and threw it allegedly towards the Chair following a heated argument with BJP member Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former High Court judge, during the panel meeting on Tuesday. Banerjee ended up with cuts on his fingers and was administered first aid.
A day after the incident, DMK member A Raja and AAP member Sanjay Singh accused Pal of making the “confidential” deliberations of the Committee public and questioned the fairness of the panel’s proceedings.
“In spite of the unpleasant incident that took place in the meeting, the attitude and manner by which the meetings are conducted in haste by the chairman, creates doubts in the mind of the members and public that justice will not be secured,” Raja, a former Union Minister, said in a post on X.
Echoing Raja’s views, Singh said the opposition members had decided not to make any statement regarding the incident involving Banerjee.
“First of all, it’s not in accordance with the rules to make a public statement about what transpired during the meeting. It is very unfortunate that the Chairman made a statement to the media,” Singh told PTI.
BJP members Nishikant Dubey, Aparajita Sarangi and Abhijit Gangopadhyay shot off a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, calling for Banerjee’s immediate suspension from the House pending investigation into what they called “unprecedented violence” during the meeting of the parliamentary panel.
The panel had decided to suspend the Trinamool Congress member for one day from the Committee proceedings after the incident.
In their letter sent on Tuesday, the three BJP MPs urged the Speaker to take “urgent punitive action” against Banerjee, saying that merely suspending the TMC member for a day is a “much lighter punishment” and it will not deter him from repeating “such acts of hooliganism along with an intent to cause life-threatening physical harm to other Members of Parliament”.
The BJP MPs urged that an FIR may be lodged against Banerjee for “unprecedented goondaism, unpardonable violence and life-threatening attack” on Pal followed by his immediate police custody, interrogation and investigation by the “competent law enforcement agencies”.
The “unethical conduct” of Banerjee may be referred to the Committee on Ethics for examination, investigation and report for considering rescinding his membership, they demanded.
Pending further action against him, Banerjee may be suspended from the proceedings of the House and its committees and also barred from entering the Parliament Estate till the conclusion of the inquiry against him, the BJP MPs said in their letter to the Speaker.
Pal said the Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill has had over 16 meetings and heard over 150 delegations including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamait Ulema-e-Hind and others.
“We have reached all the states of the south. No JPC had gone into that much detail to prepare its report,” Pal claimed.
The senior BJP leader also asserted he is ready to resign as Chairman of the Committee if opposition members state that he did not allow them to speak at the meeting.
Pal said AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi and DMK member A Raja were strident in their opposition to the Bill and were making their views known to the Committee in an orderly manner. PTI SKU/KR/PK/NAB RT
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