Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: AICC via PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress is likely to keep away from the joint committee of Parliament to examine the three Bills that seek the removal of top government functionaries arrested for 30 consecutive days on serious charges, party sources said on Monday.
They said the decision of the party may be communicated to Lok Sabha Speaker soon.
At least three parties -- Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Aam Aadmi Party -- have declared that they will not be part of the committee. The Samajwadi Party has hinted at supporting the view that the Opposition should be united in not joining the panel. Some opposition parties have not made their stand public but none have expressed willingness to join the panel.
Earlier this month, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had said that no political party has written to him about boycotting the joint committee of Parliament to examine the three Bills.
"On the issue of JPC, no political party has communicated to me in writing on this subject," Birla had told reporters.
On the last day of the Monsoon Session, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the three Bills in the Lok Sabha - the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill.
The proposed laws call for the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges.
The Bills ignited fierce protest from the entire opposition, which claimed they were unconstitutional and aimed at targeting its leaders in power in different states.
The House sent the Bills to a joint committee of Parliament, which will have 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha, for scrutiny, but the panel has not been formed yet