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The recent meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Bill has been marred by controversy, with Opposition MPs raising serious concerns about alleged violations of parliamentary decorum and bias displayed by the committee chairman. The crux of the dispute lies in the testimony of Anwar Manippady, former chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation, who was invited to share his insights on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. Manippady, however, deviated from the intended scope of his presentation, instead launching into a series of accusations against the Karnataka government and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, drawing ire from the Opposition MPs.
The Opposition MPs, led by Asaduddin Owaisi and Kalyan Banerjee, vehemently protested Manippady's actions, arguing that his allegations were irrelevant to the Waqf Bill and served only to smear the Congress leadership. They highlighted the fact that Kharge, being the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, holds a position of constitutional significance and should not be subjected to such personal attacks in a parliamentary setting. The Opposition members also expressed outrage that the committee chairman, Jagdambika Pal, allowed Manippady to proceed with his politically charged remarks despite their objections, accusing Pal of bias and failing to uphold the principles of fairness and objectivity.
Furthermore, the Opposition MPs allege that Manippady's presentation, titled 'Presentation on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2012 based on Karmataka Waqf Scam Report 2012', contained no observations on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, but instead focused on politically motivated allegations against Congress leaders. This, coupled with alleged abusive language used by a BJP MP, led to a walkout by the Opposition members, who cited a hostile environment and a lack of respect for their right to express dissent. While they returned to participate in the meeting, their concerns about the conduct of the JPC remain firmly stated. This incident has once again brought to light the contentious nature of parliamentary debates and the importance of maintaining decorum and fairness in these forums.
Source: 'Gross violation of ... ': Opposition MPs write to Speaker Om Birla over JPC meet on Waqf bill