On Tuesday, 23rd October, Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chairman Jagdambika Pal alleged that TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee attacked his chair with a glass bottle during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. As per the reports, enraged Banerjee smashed the glass bottle while discussing the matter with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay. JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal, meanwhile, said that he escaped the attack with God’s grace.
“Yesterday during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee broke a glass bottle and threw it with such anger and fury and the way he threw it at me, it is God’s grace that I narrowly escaped,” he said while talking to the ANI news agency.
#WATCH | Delhi: On scuffle during JPC meeting, Waqf Amendment Bill JPC Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal says, "Yesterday during the Joint Parliamentary Committee, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee broke a glass bottle and threw it with such anger and fury and the way he threw it at me, it… pic.twitter.com/LquyJL51pQ
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2024
He further added that every member in the meeting is given an equal opportunity to speak and that such attacks amid serious discussions are to be condemned. “The government is having discussions on the bill so that it can benefit the Muslim community. The objective of the bill is to benefit the poor Muslims. The state wants such land to be used for the education and development of poor Muslims. We have to come to a consensus. If anybody disagrees, they must make their point. But showing such anger is not valid,” he added.
“This concerns Parliament. We have made (Lok Sabha Speaker) Om Birla aware of the incident. Because it was such a big incident. We had to adjourn the meeting for the first time. Because of the way the incident happened and the bottle was broken… everyone was shocked. There were two witnesses from Odisha, including a former Judge and a senior IAS officer. What message has been sent to the country? Their party (TMC) should also consider what kind of behavior is this? Where is there a place for violence in a parliamentary democracy,” Pal said.
The scuffle is believed to have taken place after the BJP MP objected to Banerjee interrupting other members. Banerjee and Gangopadhyay also had an ugly spat during a discussion on the registration of Waqf properties. Pal then said that he had informed the speaker about the attack and banned Banerjee from attending the next meeting.
“I have informed the Speaker about the entire incident but this is a serious attack on the parliamentary system. Kalyan Banerjee was allowed to speak the most. I will resign if someone is accusing me of not giving enough time to speak in the JPC. We have passed a resolution and expelled Kalyan Banerjee from the next meeting of the JPC,” Pal said.
Opposition leaders meanwhile have slammed Jagdambika Pal accusing him of allegedly breaking procedural rules by making the incident public. Pal denied the claims made by DMK member A Raja and AAP member Sanjay Singh, claiming that he did not make public the committee’s proceedings but rather spoke only about the violent occurrence.
“I have not revealed any proceedings or deliberations of the Committee. I have only made a statement about an incident of violence during the committee meeting by a member and his subsequent suspension,” Pal was quoted as saying.
