BJP MPs protest parliament panel calling Medha Patkar, meeting cut short

A parliamentary committee meeting ended abruptly on Tuesday as BJP MPs protested against the panel's decision to hear activist Medha Patkar, who has long been accused by the ruling party of working against the country's development interests in the name of public and environmental causes.

Former Union minister and BJP MP Parshottam Rupala was joined by other lawmakers from his party as they walked out of the meeting, with some dubbing Patkar as "anti-national". A BJP MP wondered if leaders from Pakistan could also be called at such a meeting.

The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.

Ulaka defended the decision, telling PTI that it is a standard practice for a parliamentary committee to hear civil society members and other stakeholders on various issues.

He added, "We wanted to hear their views on the land acquisition law. We wanted an opinion from everyone, but they (BJP) didn't allow it."  A BJP member said their primary objection was to calling Patkar, who was the face of the 'Narmada Bachao Andolan' protest against a determined push by the Gujarat government, headed then by Narendra Modi as chief minister, to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam.

The state government's views finally prevailed and Modi, who took over as prime minister in 2014, has often spoken about the efforts to stall the project since its foundation was laid in the 1960s.

As the BJP MPs walked out, Ulaka said he decided to end the meeting due to a lack of quorum.

He said, "As per rule, a quorum of 10 members is required. When the BJP MPs walked out, there was no quorum, and the meeting ended."  According to a source, those invited before the panel included officials from the Environment and Forest Ministry. Activists, including Patkar and Prakash Raj, were also asked to appear before the committee.

The source said BJP MPs objected to Patkar appearing before the panel, and called her "anti-national". Another source said a miffed MP also wondered if the prime minister of Pakistan could be called for questioning by the panel.

When the meeting started, opposition MPs were of the opinion that Patkar should be heard, to which the BJP MPs did not agree.

Asked about the incident, Patkar said she was invited to appear before the panel, and while she and others were waiting, they saw some MPs leave.

Later, they were informed that the meeting had ended, she added. Patkar said she has appeared before parliamentary committees earlier as well.

"I have never experienced anything like this before. It is important to talk about the land acquisition law," she said.