A meeting of the parliamentary committee suddenly ended on July 1 when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested MPs against the decision of the panel to hear the activist Medha Patkar and actor activist Prakash Raj. The Standing Rural Development Committee and Panchayati Raj, led by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, called Patkar and Raj to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the Land Procurement Act by Parliament when Congress was the height of the Sardar Dam in 2013. ruling party to work against the country’s development interests in the name of public and environmental causes. BJP MP Parshottam Rupala protested the former Union Minister and BJP MP Parshottam Rupala joined by other lawmakers of his party as they stepped out of the meeting, with a few Patkar as ‘anti-national’. A BJP MP wondered if Pakistan leaders could also be called to such a meeting, the news agency Pti, Ulaka, the panel chairman, defended the decision, saying that it was a standard practice for a parliamentary committee to hear members of civil society and other stakeholders on different issues. “We wanted to hear their views on the Land Procurement Act. We wanted an opinion of everyone, but they (BJP) did not allow it,” he told the news agency Pti. Out of the 29 members of the committee, 14 members, including the chairman, were present, and a majority of them were some of the BJP and its allies. The agenda of the meeting was to hear from different stakeholders about the implementation and effectiveness of the right to fair compensation and transparency in the Land Procurement Act, Rehabilitation and Relocation, 2013, an UPA-ERA Act. Representatives from the Department of Ground Sources (Ministry of Rural Development), the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), experts and other stakeholders had to speak before the panel. Among those invited in front of the panel were officials of the environment and forest ministry and activists, including Patkar and Prakash Raj, also an actor who often criticized the BJP’s politics. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda also attended the meeting, according to Pti. A BJP MP said they were not told about the decision to ask Patkar to share her opinion with the committee. Generally, sources said, it is the chairman’s chairman to choose names, although members can make suggestions. A BJP member said their primary objection was to Patkar, which was the face of the ‘Narmada Bachao andolan’ protest march against a determined push by the Gujarat government, on the head of Narendra Modi as chief minister, to increase the highlight of the Sardar Sarovar. The view of the state government eventually prevailed, and Modi, who took over as prime minister in 2014, spoke regularly about the efforts to stop the project since the founding in the 1960s. When the BJP MPs stepped out, Ulaka said he decided to end the meeting due to a lack of quorum. ‘If Pakistan Prime Minister is also called’ ” by the rule, a 10 -member quorum is needed. When the BJP MPs walked out, there was no quorum, and the meeting ended, ‘he said. BJP MPs objected to Patkar appearing in front of the panel and called her ‘anti-national’, according to sources cited by the PTI news agency. A Miffed -LP also wonders if the Pakistan Prime Minister can be asked by the panel, the news agency report states. When the meeting began, the opposition MPs were of the opinion that Patkar had to be heard, which the BJP lps did not agree with. On a question about the incident, Patkar said she was invited to appear before the panel, and while she and others were waiting, they saw some MPs departing. We wanted to hear their view on the Land Procurement Act. We wanted an opinion of everyone, but they (BJP) did not allow it. She added that they were later informed that the meeting had ended. Patkar said she had also appeared before the parliamentary committees earlier. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s important to talk about the Land Procurement Act,” she said. (With agency input)
BJP -LPs Protest Parliament Panel invites Prakash Raj, Medha Patkar; Meeting Canceled | Today news
