Not working as per rules: Opposition MPs boycott Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on Waqf Amendment Bill

The parliamentary panel examining the Waqf (Amendment) bill witnessed high drama as opposition members walked out protesting against the personal allegations made by a witness before the committee against Congress president and leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Opposition members also protested the panel’s summoning of Mahant Sudhirdas, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and few others who they claimed have nothing to do with the draft legislation.

Expressing their anger against the functioning of the committee, Opposition members walked out of the meeting and alleged that the panel was not functioning in accordance with the rules and regulations.

Opposition MPs, including Gaurav Gogoi and Imran Masood of Congress, A Raja of DMK, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party’s Mohibbullah and Sanjay Singh of AAP, stormed out of the meeting. Sawant said: “We have boycotted because the committee is not functioning according to the principles and norms of the committee. Ethically and principally, they are wrong”. He, along with some other MPs, charged that personal allegations were allowed to be levelled against senior opposition members like Mallikarjun Kharge by a person who was deposing before the committee.

Allegations were made by Anwar Manippady, former chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission. In his written deposition before the panel, he also made allegations against the several other leaders.