Uproar in Lok Sabha over Enemy Property Bill

NEW DELHI - There was uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday over a Bill to amend a law governing properties left behind by those who went to Pakistan during partition.

Members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) protested and forced adjournment of the House for an hour.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, SP chief Mulayam Singh said the bill would snatch the rights of the Muslims who stayed back in India and went against a Supreme Court verdict, which had granted them the right over properties, which were left behind by their forefathers.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said the government was bringing appropriate amendments to take care of the concerns raised by Mulayam Singh.

AIADMK’s Munisamy Thambidurai, who was presiding the session, adjourned the house till 2 p.m. amid the din.

The Bill makes it clear that courts would have no jurisdiction over occupation of properties, which have been left behind by those who went to Pakistan at the time of Partition.

There are about 2,000 such properties in the country.

Earlier, in the day, both Houses were adjourned following pandemonium over the alleged misuse of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

As soon as the Lok Sabha met, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj accused the government of misusing the CBI.

Swaraj demanded that the current session be extended by another day to enable discussion on the functioning of the CBI.

“This session should not end without a discussion on the functioning of CBI. The misuse of CBI to meet narrow political ends should stop,” she said.

Sushma Swaraj said the discussion assumes significance in the wake of allegations made by senior Gujarat IPS officer Geeta Johri that the CBI was “pressurising” her to name some top political leaders in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. (ANI)