Panel meeting ending abruptly undermines spirit of parliamentary oversight CPI M MP

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The abrupt ending to a parliamentary panel meeting after BJP MPs staged a walkout over its decision to hear activist Medha Patkar, undermined the spirit of parliamentary oversight and democratic consultation, CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday.
    The meeting of the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj was cut short as BJP MPs protested against the panel's decision to hear Patkar, who had led protests against raising the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat and is accused by the ruling party of working against the country's development interests in the name of public and environmental causes.
    The panel, 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.
    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 to such a meeting.
    Radhakrishnan, who is the floor leader of the CPI(M) in the Lok Sabha and a member of the panel, said the incident raises serious questions.
    It needs to be examined if "this is the first time in the history of Indian democracy that a standing committee meeting was disrupted and cancelled after a political walkout despite the presence of invited experts and concerned citizens," he said. "Such a precedent undermines the very spirit of parliamentary oversight and democratic consultation."
    Radhakrishnan said the committee had convened to review the implementation and effectiveness of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and prominent activists -- Medha Patkar and actor Prakash Raj -- were among those invited.
    Before the proceedings formally began, NDA MPs protested the presence of the invited representatives, he said.
    "The chairman assured them that their concerns would be taken up. However, as the invited guests entered the committee hall, five NDA MPs walked out in protest," the CPI(M) MP said.
    He said that despite the walkout, the remaining members continued with the proceedings. "However, shortly after, an official communication from the Speaker's office declared that the meeting could not proceed due to a lack of quorum and ordered its cancellation. As a result, the committee was forced to wind up."
    Reacting to the incident, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the BJP MPs were being "intolerant".
    "The BJP has become so intolerant that it can't even hear the words of Medha Patkar and Prakash Raj. This is unbecoming of the ruling party; it should hear all sides. The Chairperson has the right to call witnesses," Kumar told PTI.
    "These MPs have proven that they are not people's representatives. An alarming sign of the BJP's future India concept," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)