New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Friday passed ‘The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (amendment) Bill’, which seeks to remove the Congress president as a trustee, amid vociferous protests from the party members who later walked out. Piloting the bill, Culture Minister Prahlad Patel asserted that national memorials cannot be “political memorials” and they should be kept away from politics. The bill was passed by a voice vote amid the Congress walkout. Amendments moved by Opposition parties were defeated by division of votes. New Delhi: The amendment bill also paves the way for the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha to be a member of the trust.
But no such post exists at present as no non-BJP party won the required 10 per cent of total seats to get the status. As of now, the trust which manages the memorial, has the Prime Minister as the chairperson, President of Indian National Congress, Culture Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Punjab governor, Punjab CM as its members. Replying to the debate on the bill, Patel said the government wants to end politics associated with the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust.
“It is our belief and principle that politics should be removed from the national memorial and hence the amendments were brought to the 1951 Act,” he said. Patel said there should be no politicisation of the memorial rather there should be nationalisation. “It should be a great tribute to Udham Singh,” he said while questioning Congress party for stopping it from appointing his family members on the board.
Read more at: https://www.thestatesman.com