Opposition members of Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 on Tuesday wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla over “gross violation” of parliamentary code of conduct during the committee’s meeting on Monday.

In their letter, they alleged numerous violations of the parliamentary code of conduct and rules of procedure.They said the invitation extended to Anwar Manippady to depose evidence before the Committee by the Chairperson was not “within the scope and ambit of the Committee.”

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The opposition MPs said there were politically motivated allegations against leaders of Karnataka Congress and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. There was protest by the MPs that the allegations were unjustified as Mr Kharge occupied a high constitutional position and was not present in the meeting.

They also stated in the letter that the Members of the Committee were deprived of their fundamental right to voice their concerns and thoughts in a space which is expected to operate with the highest alignment to democratic values. “We believe that it is imperative to inform you of the situation, as it not only involves an insult to the Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, but paves a way for a marked departure from the spirit of bipartisanship and dignity expected from a parliamentary committee,” read the letter.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting witnessed a heated exchange between ruling party MPs and opposition MPs on Tuesday, leading to an intense debate and the opposition MPs staged a walk out of the meeting. The meeting was adjourned for 10 minutes due to the chaos. However, the opposition MPs rejoined the meeting after 40-45 minutes.The opposition MPs had staged a walk-out from the JPC meeting on Monday also.