BJP MP Tejasvi Surya seeks disciplinary action against Opposition members for threatening chief of Waqf Bill panel

Surya shot off a letter to Speaker Om Birla, countering the Opposition’s allegation on misuse of Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) by giving platform to a witness to make politically motivated allegations 

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday (October 17, 2024) countered allegations that MP Jagdambika Pal, Chairman of the Joint Committee examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, had committed “gross violation of parliamentary code of conduct” at a meeting of the panel.

In his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Mr. Surya, a member of the Committee, instead accused the Opposition MPs of “unruly behaviour” during the October 14 meeting at the Parliament House.

On Tuesday, the Opposition members had written a letter to the Speaker, stating that it was difficult to work in a “partisan and politically motivated environment”. 

At the centre of the conflict is a deposition made by former Karnataka State Minorities Commission chairman Anwar Manippadi before the Committee. As per Mr. Surya, Mr. Mannippadi, who is also a former vice-president of the BJP’s Karnataka unit, was invited at his behest.

Also read: In letter to Lok Sabha Speaker, Opposition MPs allege violation of rules in conduct of meeting on Waqf bill

During his deposition, Mr. Mannippadi submitted a 2012 report prepared during his tenure at the Karnataka minorities panel. This report, as per Mr. Surya, alleges “large-scale encroachment or sale of approximately 2,000 acres of Waqf land valued around ₹2 lakh crore to private entities, implicating certain leaders of the Indian National Congress.” Claiming that Mr. Mannippadi’s deposition is unrelated to the legislation at hand, the Opposition wanted Mr. Pal to stop his presentation. Matters went out of hand, when Mr. Mannippadi named Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, among others, in his presentation. The Opposition alleged that the Mr. Mannippadi’s deposition was “full of politically motivated allegations against leaders of the Karnataka Congress, including Mallikarjun Kharge,” Mr. Surya said.  

Also read: Opposition members raise an array of objections to Waqf Amendment Bill 

Mr. Surya, in his letter to Mr. Birla, however did not address the Opposition’s allegation of the presentation being politically motivated. Instead, he underlined that the report had been tabled in Karnataka Legislative Assembly, which he said recommended the setting up of a high-powered committee to look into the scam. He further said that in 2016, then Lokayuka in Karnataka also “authenticated” the report. 

“Regrettably, as soon as this serious issue was brought to the Committee’s attention, Opposition members disrupted the proceedings, verbally threatened both the witness and the Chairperson, and tore up Committee documents,” he said. The Opposition, he said, then walked to where the witness and the Chairperson were seated, to “physically threaten” them. “Their behaviour reflected a complete disregard for parliamentary decorum,” Mr. Surya said. Such conduct cannot be taken lightly, he said, demanding disciplinary action against the members. 

Published - October 17, 2024 08:41 pm IST