NEW DELHI: In another face-off between the Opposition and the ruling BJP over the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Opposition MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday flagging the unilateral decisions by the panel head and warned that they might be forced to disassociate with JPC as ‘they have been stonewalled’.On Monday, JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal announced that a series of meetings will take place with various stakeholders on November 4 and 5 to discuss issues related to the Waqf Bill. The Lok Sabha has tasked the Pal-led JPC to scrutinize the Waqf Bill after the government introduced it in the Monsoon session of Parliament. The bill has drawn fierce protests from opposition parties and several Muslim organizations.In the letter, the MPs said that the constitution of JPC, i.e. a mini Parliament should not be treated as a mere ventilating chamber to get the Bill passed as desired by the Union government ignoring the Parliamentary process by using ‘majority’ undemocratically.“Sir, it is respectfully submitted that the Chairman of the Committee used to make unilateral decisions on fixing the dates of sittings even for consecutive three days, where persons/bodies to be called as witnesses, which is not practically possible for MPs to interact with preparation,” it said.The members further accused the chairman of bulldozing the proceedings. “It is our duty to bring to your notice with pain that bulldozing the proceedings of the JPC without assigning reasonable and plausible time pause as against the will of the members is nothing but an act of atrocious onslaught on the Constitutional religion and the Parliament,” it said. The members further urged the Speaker to direct the Chairman to have formal consultations with committee members before taking any decisions. “And to assure the nation that the committee is fair and free in arriving any conclusions on the Bill without any bias and departure from the well established Parliamentary procedures.,” it said. The letterIn the letter, the MPs said that the constitution of JPC, i.e. a mini Parliament should not be treated as a mere ventilating chamber to get the Bill passed as desired by the Union government ignoring the Parliamentary process by using ‘majority’ undemocratically.
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