New Delhi: Emboldened by the passage of the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha, and to the displeasure of the Congress party, the government may push for another legislation in the Upper House to amend the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The bill introduced in the Lok Sabha seeks to do away with nomination of the president of the Indian National Congress as a trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust.
Under the 1951 Act, which the government wants to amend, the Prime Minister, INC president, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, governor, chief minister of Punjab, Union culture minister and three eminent persons nominated by the central government would constitute the trust of the memorial.
The proposed amendments would end automatic nomination of INC president to the trust. In absence of leader of opposition in the LS, the leaders of the single largest party would instead be nominated to the trust.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had urged the government not to push for changes in the trusteeship, citing long association of the grand old party with the freedom movement.
The bill was passed during Modi government’s first term in office, but with the government lacking numbers in the Upper House, the bill lapsed with the term of the 16th Lok Sabha coming to an end.
The government claims the system of nomination is outdated; and there “cannot be any entitlement on such issues. No political party can claim hold over a trust like Jallianwala Bagh Memorial”.
In the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, the government has managed to muster numbers in Rajya Sabha despite not having a clear majority. And there are indications that the bill will be pushed for passage in the current session itself.
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