LS passes Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Bill amid Congress walkout

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill 2018 amid walkout by the Congress. It amends the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act 1951.

Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma, while replying to the discussions on the Bill, said the government honoured the martyrs who laid down their lives during India's freedom struggle. 

"The NDA government is dedicated to the national memorials like the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum and the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Museum built in honour of the freedom fighters. The government also celebrated the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev," he said.

K.C. Venugopal of the Congress said the legislation has been brought by the government with only one purpose -- to remove the Congress President from the Trust. 

"The Jallianwala Bagh struggle was led by the Indian National Congress. Everybody knows about it. The BJP does not know about the freedom struggle. Their leaders did not participate in the freedom struggle. They supported the killers of Mahatma Gandhi. Even now they are justifying the killers of Mahatma Gandhi. This is negative politics," he said.

Venugopal said they can remove the Congress President from the Trust but the country and its people will decide who will go to the Trust. After this, the Congress members staged a walkout.

Earlier, participating in the debate, Trinamool Congress' Sugata Bose said the blood of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs mingled in the earth of Jallianwala Bagh and that is the kind of unity among all religious communities that we must strive for today.

"Let us all join together and unitedly honour the memory of those who died a hundred years ago on April 13, 1919. Let us leave all parliamentary bickerings behind and together say we will strive for the unity of all religious communities in India. Let us bow our heads in memory of the martyrs of the Amritsar tragedy," he said. - IANS