DMK’s A Raja urges Waqf Amendment Bill JPC chairman to postpone dates of next meeting to Jan 30, 31

DMK leader A Raja on Wednesday lodged a protest with Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill chairman Jagdambika Pal over the meeting called on January 24 and 25 and urged him to change the dates to January 30 and 31. In his letter to Pal, Raja, who is also the DMK’s Chief whip in the Lok Sabha said that as per the instruction of the Lok Sabha Secretariat through the letter dated January 20, the members of JPC have been requested to send their Amendments to the proposed Bill latest by 4 pm on January 22 and also, the next sitting of JPC has also been convened on 24 and 25 of this month for clause by clause consideration of the Bill.

The DMK leader argued that it is needless to say that the tour programmes of the JPC to meet the stake holders at Patna, Kolkata and Lucknow were completed only on January 21. He highlighted that the members were dispersed from the tour programme to their Constituency or States to continue their scheduled programmes earlier. “It is very strange that the next dates for sitting of JPC were hurriedly announced without any formal discussion when the JPC was already on tour,” the DMK leader said, adding that even during the sitting of JPC at Lucknow itself it was requested by the members that the proposed sittings on 24 and 25 January were practically not possible as the members are expected to discharge their duties or programmes in the locality.

“Moreover, the members are not in a position to recollect the evidences or materials in such a short notice which are essentially needed for the moving the Amendments and discussion thereon. Of course, you have directed the stakeholders who participated in the tour programme at Patna, Kolkata and Lucknow to submit their views and submission in writing within seven days and the committee is waiting for the same for circulation.  “Hence, it was requested by the most of the members at Lucknow sitting that the proposed sittings of JPC on 24 and 25 have to be necessarily postponed on 30 (full day) and 31 January after the Presidential Address in the Parliament,” he said

Raja also mentioned that Pal had reacted to the request that it will be considered positively after consultation with the government realising the justification offered by the members for the postponement.  “Unless the sittings of the JPC is postponed, the purpose of the Constitution of the JPC itself will be defeated as it raises the doubts in the minds of the people of India that the secular fabrics of the Constitution embodied in its preamble itself are endangered and the due process in conducting the JPC is also not followed,” Raja said.