Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee was suspended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Tuesday over his unruly behavior at a meeting of the JPC on the Waqf Bill. During a heated exchange with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Banerjee smashed a glass water bottle. During the incident, Banerjee injured his thumb and index finger and had to be given first aid. He was later seen being escorted back to the meeting room by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and AAP leader Sanjay Singh. The TMC member was also offered soup by the officials.
The committee, chaired by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, was listening to the views of a group of retired judges and lawyers when the opposition members questioned what their stake in the bill was.
The scuffle broke out when the presentation on Odisha was underway, with retired judges, senior advocates, and intellectuals in attendance. According to sources, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, who had already spoken multiple times, attempted to raise an issue out of turn, prompting objections from BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf is currently reviewing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which includes multiple members from the ruling BJP as well as the opposition to reach a consensus on the bill.
The committee, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, aims to reform the Waqf Act to ensure that waqf properties are used for the benefit of the community. In today’s meeting, the committee was hearing views and suggestions from representatives of Justice in Reality and Panchasakha Prachar, both based in Cuttack, Odisha. A delegation of five MPs from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will also present their perspectives on the bill.
