Culture Minister presents Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Bill in Lok Sabha
A bill, which seeks to remove the Congress president as a permanent member in a trust that runs Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial to make the body "apolitical", was introduced in Lok Sabha today. The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (amendment) Bill, moved by Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma states that it seeks to "delete" the mention of 'President of the Indian National Congress' as a trustee.
The present Lok Sabha has no leader of Opposition
The amendment bill also paves way for the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha to be a member of the trust. As of now, only the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member of the trust. The present Lok Sabha has no leader of the Opposition. The bill also confers specific powers to Central Government.
PM, INC's President, Culture Minister among other members of trust
The amendment bill grants power to the Central Government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of the term without assigning any reason. As of now, the trust, which manages the memorial, has the Prime Minister as the chairperson, President of Indian National Congress, Culture Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Punjab governor, Punjab CM as its members.
Memorial was established in 1951 to mark Jallianwala massacre
Virendra Kataria, Ambika Soni, and Harvendra Singh Hanspal are nominated trustees appointed in 2013 for five years, according to the Culture Ministry website. Jallianwala Bagh memorial was established in 1951 by the Central Government to mark the massacre of unarmed innocent people on April 13, 1919, by the British Indian Army under the command of Col. Reginald Dyer.
