After allegedly breaking a glass bottle during a dispute with BJP MPs, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended from Tuesday’s (October 22, 2024) Joint Committee meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024.
Hours after he allegedly shattered a glass during their meeting and injured himself after a dispute with BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay, All India Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended for one day and two meetings of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 on Tuesday.
According to a statement from Dubey, Banerjee was suspended for “using inappropriate language against the chairperson and indicating that he was throwing the broken bottle in the chairperson’s direction.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Meeting of the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) on the Waqf Bill begins at the Parliament Annexe. It was halted briefly after a scuffle broke out during the meeting.
— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2024
According to eyewitnesses to the incident, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee picked up a glass water… pic.twitter.com/vTR7xMwOb5
The incident happened earlier on Tuesday while the JPC was hearing depositions from Panchasakha Bani Prachar Mandali and Justice in Reality, a company based in Cuttack.
As these two organizations were presenting, Banerjee had asked to step in, according to someone with knowledge of the situation. Since Kalyan Banerjee had previously spoken at the meeting of Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, Chairperson Pal turned down the proposal. The MP for the TMC continued to make his appeal.
The two got into a heated dispute when Abhijeet Gangopadhyay objected to Kalyan Banerjee’s persistent requests to speak. Kalyan Banerjee shattered a glass in the midst of the situation.
Conflicting versions have surfaced here. According to Banerjee, he hurt his hand trying to hurl the shattered glass, however according to Dubey’s statement, he flung the glass in the direction of the chairwoman.
According to a senior BJP leader, Banerjee has a history of disrupting meetings, and the committee’s BJP members were already preparing to move resolutions against him shortly after the incident.
What is Waqf Amendment Bill 2024?
On August 8, 2024, the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 was presented to the Indian Lok Sabha. It aims to alter the Waqf Act of 1995 and repeal the Mussalman Wakf Act of 1923. Waqf is defined as an endowment of movable or immovable property for uses deemed pious, religious, or charitable under Muslim law, and the Act governs waqf property in India. To administer waqf, each state must set up a waqf board. The United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 is the new name for the Act according to the Bill.
Members of the BJP supported the bill, claiming that it was essential for guaranteeing openness and improving Waqf property management. Significant reforms, such as digitization of data, more stringent audits, greater openness, and legal means of recovering unlawfully occupied waqf lands, are the goals of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024.