For second time in 2 days, Opposition MPs walk out of Waqf Bill meeting, allege derogatory remarks

Opposition MPs objected to a BJP leader mentioning Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is not a member of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Oct 15, 2024 02:00 PM IST

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi at the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. (Screengrab/PTI)

For the second time in two days, several Opposition MPs walked out of the meeting of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday, accusing BJP members of using derogatory language against them, while MPs from the ruling side alleged the Opposition members used such language against panel chairman Jagdambika Pal.

On Monday, the Opposition MPs walked out after a former office-bearer of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and BJP leader deposed before the panel made a comment on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, reportedly over allotment of waqf land.

Opposition MPs objected to Kharge’s name being mentioned when he was not a member of the committee. Sources said the MPs were of the view that comments against the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha should not be allowed.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, who was among the Opposition MPs who walked out, told The Indian Express that the parliamentary committee “should be run according to rules and regulations”. “There are some ethics. If these are not followed, we will boycott. This is what we have done today,” he said, adding that he could not say more about the issue.

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The Opposition MPs quoted the Karnataka BJP leader, Anwar Manippadi, saying he could not authenticate his allegations.

The Opposition MPs have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on why the committee chairman, the BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, allowed such comments to be made.

On Tuesday, officials of the Ministry of Minority Affairs were to give oral evidence on the Bill to the committee.

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In the past too, Opposition MPs had alleged that stakeholders were not being heard and that politics was being done in the name of the proceedings.

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