BJP MPs Stroll Out Of Parliamentary Panel Meet, Objecting To Presence Of Medha Patkar, Prakash Raj

Final Up to date:July 02, 2025, 03:20 IST

The agenda included the consideration and adoption of two draft reviews on authorities actions by the Division of Land Assets and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj

The Standing Committee on Rural Growth and Panchayati Raj met in Parliament on Tuesday morning, chaired by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka. Nonetheless, the assembly quickly grew to become contentious over the participation of controversial figures, significantly social activist Medha Patkar.

The agenda included the consideration and adoption of two draft reviews on authorities actions by the Division of Land Assets and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It additionally featured scheduled oral testimonies from representatives of varied ministries, NGOs, and different stakeholders on the implementation of the Proper to Truthful Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Tensions emerged when BJP members found that people scheduled to seem earlier than the committee, together with Medha Patkar and actor-activist Prakash Raj, weren’t listed upfront or disclosed to them. A number of BJP lawmakers expressed sturdy objections, alleging that the inclusion of such people, identified for his or her criticism of the federal government, was politically motivated and inappropriate for the dialogue.

BJP MP Purushottam Rupala led the protest, stating that Medha Patkar had lengthy opposed nationwide developmental initiatives, significantly tasks very important to Gujarat’s water assets. “She has no ethical standing to talk on such issues earlier than the committee,” Rupala reportedly instructed members, including that “if it have been as much as her, half of Gujarat can be drought-stricken.”

Supporting his stance have been BJP MPs Dr Sanjay Jaiswal (Bihar), Raju Bista (West Bengal), and Jugal Kishore (Jammu). The members demanded transparency within the listing of witnesses and criticised the chairman for withholding names. It was later revealed that solely Sanjay Jaiswal acquired a duplicate of the witness listing, prompting accusations of procedural irregularity.

Regardless of repeated questioning, there was no readability on why Prakash Raj was current outdoors the assembly room. His title didn’t seem on any official listing shared with members. The scenario worsened when members have been knowledgeable, after the assembly had already begun, that the chairman had allegedly obtained the Lok Sabha Speaker’s permission to ask the controversial figures. Nonetheless, ruling celebration MPs contested this declare, asserting that no such approval had been granted.

Congress MPs Mohammad Javed and Imran Masood supported the chairman, defending the inclusion of numerous voices and accusing the BJP of politicising the problem. However Raju Bista countered, warning that such choices shouldn’t provoke members by bringing in people with “a transparent political agenda”.

Chatting with CNN-News18, Dr Sanjay Jaiswal remarked, “Within the historical past of parliamentary proceedings, we’ve by no means seen members saved at midnight about who’s showing and why. Medha Patkar is dealing with practically 45 to 50 circumstances filed by the central and varied state governments—how can such an individual symbolize public curiosity earlier than a parliamentary panel?”

A committee member later instructed CNN-News18, on situation of anonymity, “The chairman is mostly identified to be truthful and soft-spoken. But it surely seems he was beneath stress from the highest management of his celebration. Summoning identified Gandhi household supporters like Medha Patkar sends the unsuitable message.”

The strain culminated in BJP MPs staging a walkout after the chairman insisted on continuing with testimonies from ten NGO representatives. With their exit, the assembly was adjourned attributable to an absence of quorum.

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