Don't remove Cong chief from Jallianwala Trust: Opp to Govt

Stressing that there should be no politics over martyrs, Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday urged the government to show "magnanimity" by allowing the Congress President to continue as a permanent member of the trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial.

The opposition members were participating in a discussion on the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel moved the motion for further consideration and passing of the Bill.

The amendment seeks to remove the Congress President as a permanent member of the Trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial in Amritsar, Punjab.

Patel had moved the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on August 7 after the Lok Sabha passed it on August 2 by a voice vote amid a Congress walkout.

Participating in the debate, Pratap Singh Bajwa of the Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic 250th session of the Upper House wanted opposition to show large heartedness.

It was time that the government showed "magnanimity" and recognised the Congress party's contribution to the freedom struggle, he said.

"There is no need to rewrite history," Bajwa said, adding that the relationship between Jallianwala Bagh and Congress party was that of "nail and flesh" which cannot be separated from each other.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on April 13, 1919 when about 1,500 people peacefully gathered at the garden to oppose the Rowlatt Act were indiscriminately fired upon at the orders of military officer General E H Dyer.

Bajwa also said the government should confer Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and also acknowledge the sacrifice of revolutionary Udham Singh who waited for 21 years to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh incident by killing General Dyer in London.

Sukhendu Sekhar Ray (Trinamool) said the massacre was a black chapter and urged the government to not concentrate on removing people from the Trust but to include martyrs' family members in the Trust.

He said it was Rabindra Nath Tagore who had renounced British Knighthood in protest against the massacre of 1919 and initiated the protest against it.

Prof Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) reiterated that there should be "no politics in the matter of martyrs" and if the government wanted to do something it can at least erect a statue of martyr Udham Singh in the Parliament complex.

Prasanna Acharya (BJD) reiterated: "You are segregating Congress Party from this trust...you cannot change the history of freedom movement...Show magnanimity."