Jallianwala Bagh Amendment Bill introduced in LS, Cong opposes

The Congress government on Monday vehemently opposed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha after it was introduced by Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

The bill seeks to remove the Congress president as a permanent member in a trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial to make the body "apolitical".

While moving the bill in the Parliament, Patel stated that it seeks to "delete" the mention of 'President of the Indian National Congress' as a trustee of the Trust.

"The bill was passed in the 16th Lok Sabha but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha. Today, we are again moving this bill and will answer to every questioned posed to us," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor urged the Centre not to take such step as it would betray the history since his party has been associated with the trust for so long.

The Bill, which amends the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951, was approved by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year in December.

It was approved to ensure representation of the Opposition Party in the Trust and empower the government to terminate and replace a Trustee to participate in the functioning of the Trust.

The decisions aim to suitably amend the aforesaid act so as to secure representation as Trustees, "the Leader of Opposition recognized as such in the House of the People, or where there is no such Leader of Opposition, then the Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in the House".

In the existing Act, there is a provision for the representation of a single national political party. Deletion of the party-specific member from the Trust will make it apolitical. The proposed amendment ensures representation of the Opposition Party in the Trust and will empower the government to terminate and replace a Trustee to participate in the functioning of the Trust or for any other reason.