New Delhi: Taking a jibe on the Union government for bringing an amendment to remove Congress president as the permanent trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Tuesday said that there should not be any distortion of history.
Speaking on behalf of the party in the Rajya Sabha on Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019, BJD Parliamentary Party leader in the Upper House Prasanna Acharya said, “We must not forget history and neither distort it. The trust was created by the Congress. You cannot segregate Congress from this trust. You cannot change the history by removing Congress from the trust.”
However, Acharya also appreciated the Union government for bringing an amendment to make the leader of the largest party as the trustee in absence of leader of opposition.
“I would also like to thank this government for bringing the amendment that the leader of the largest party will be the trustee in absence of leader of opposition. We have seen that there was no leader of opposition in 16th Lok Sabha and we neither have a leader of opposition in 17th Lok Sabha. The government has taken a good step by designating the leader of largest party as trustee in absence of leader of opposition,” said Acharya.
It is to be mentioned here that the Rajya Sabha Tuesday passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill was earlier introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Culture Prahlad Singh Patel July 8.
The Bill amends the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951. The Act provides for the erection of a National Memorial in memory of those killed or wounded April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
Under the 1951 Act, the trustees of the memorial includes the Prime Minister as chairperson, president of the Indian National Congress, Minister in-charge of Culture, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Governor of Punjab, Chief Minister of Punjab, and three eminent persons nominated by the Union government.
The amendment Bill removed Congress president as a trustee of the memorial and also states that in absence of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, the leader of largest party will be the trustee.
