(MENAFN- Live Mint) A meeting of the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament turned ugly on Monday. Sources said that Trinamool congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass water bottle and threw it away during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay. Banerjee“hurt himself by accident”.
Newswire ANI reported, quoting sources, that a scuffle broke out during the Waqf JPC meetin in Parliament. According to eyewitnesses, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee“picked up a glass water bottle and hit it on the table and hurt himself by accident”, the ANI report said.
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“Banerjee ended up hurting 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 Sing ,” sources added.
A video showed Kalyan Banerjee being escorted to the meeting following his treatment.
The officials also offered the TMC member soup.
Credit: PTIThe Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill , 2024, met on Tuesday at the Parliament Annexe building in New Delhi. The committee aims to reform the Waqf Act.
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The ruckus on Tuesday broke out when 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 their stake in the bill.
The committee also met on Monday, inviting officials from the Ministry of Minority Affairs to provide oral evidence regarding the bill.
On Monday as well, discussions during the JPC meeting became heated as opposition members questioned the consultative process behind the legislation, news agency ANI reported.
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The opposition members accused the government of introducing the bill for political reasons, alleging it targeted the Muslim community.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi presented a nearly one-hour critique of the bill on Monday, raising concerns about its implications. Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee asked whether Waqf, which exists in the name of Allah, is legally recognised by the state.
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The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, reports say, seeks“reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties”.
According to reports, the JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible.
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