12 Kolkata: With the INDIA bloc deciding to boycott the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf Bill's tour to five states, the two TMC MPs from Bengal on the panel — Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque — will not attend the JPC meeting scheduled for Nov 9. The JPC is scheduled to start its tour from the Nov 9 meeting in Guwahati, followed by meetings in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna and Lucknow over the next six days.
"Chairman Jagdambika Pal is rushing the JPC meetings with a specific agenda. With elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra and by-elections in our state, how is this tour feasible?" Banerjee said. "The JPC meetings are held for nine hours over two days a week. This makes it difficult for the MPs to attend any other work or committee meetings," he added.
On Nov 3, opposition MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with several complaints against Pal. Banerjee and other lawmakers also met Birla last week. Banerjee said that despite Birla's assurance of looking into their concerns, nothing happened.
Banerjee alleged that Pal was recording testimonies of many who had no role in the waqf issue. "There have been many JPCs in the past. In all cases, the time was extended. JPC on 2G spectrum took one-and-a-half years to submit its report," Banerjee said. He alleged that the chairman was being overtly proactive to hurriedly submit a fabricated report.