New Delhi, Oct 28: Members of ruling and opposition parties engaged in verbal clash as former judges and Waqf administrators of different states appeared before the Parliament’s panel on the Waqf bill which met for the first time on Monday after TMC member Kalyan Banerjee’s suspension for unruly conduct.
Banerjee, who broke a glass bottle and allegedly hurled it towards the chairman during the meeting last week leading to his suspension for a day, was not present at Monday’s sitting.
It was trouble from the word go, as AAP member Sanjay Singh objected to the examination of the Delhi Waqf Board administrator Ashwini Kumar, contending that the report submitted by him was not approved by the Delhi Chief Minister.
A heated exchange among ruling and opposition members ensued, leading to a walkout, for a brief period, by Singh, Congress members Naseer Hussain and Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi, SP member Mohibbullah, DMK member Mohamed Abdulla and Mohammad Nadim-ul Haque of TMC.
Opposition members also struck off their signatures from the attendance roster of the parliamentary committee before walking out, parliamentary sources said.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi shot off a letter to Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, to consider the report of the Delhi Waqf Board as “null and void” as it was sent without the approval of the Delhi government.
As the opposition members persisted with their objection to a presentation by the Delhi Waqf Board, the panel Chairman decided to seek the opinion of the Lok Sabha Secretary-General on the matter.
Kumar, the Delhi Waqf Board official, appeared before the committee briefly after the secretary general opined that he can submit his views before the panel. He is expected to continue his deposition on Tuesday.
The opposition members also objected to the appearance of Justice S N Dhingra (retd) and other former judges, claiming they were not stakeholders in the matter under deliberation. (PTI)
