Rajya Sabha Passes Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Lok Sabha had already given its nod to the Bill August by a voice vote amid a walkout by the Congress.

“Thousands of people sacrificed their lives at Jallianwala Bagh. In future, it should be never said that we attained independence without shedding a single drop of blood,” BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi said. “We'll never have to say that we gained freedom without 'khadag, dhaal', the freedom struggle began when thousands of people faced bullets and shed their blood,” he added.

The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to remove the Congress president as a permanent member of a trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial.

The Bill further seeks to empower the government to remove nominated members.

At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the trust. Besides the PM, the Union Culture Minister, the Congress president, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab comprise the board.