Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill 2018

February 15, 2019

The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed in Lok Sabha. The features of the bill are:

  • Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951 provided for the erection of a National Memorial in memory of those killed or wounded on April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
  • The 1951 Act also provided for a Trust to manage the National Memorial.
  • The Trust as per the 1951 Act included the Prime Minister, as Chairperson, (ii) the President of the Indian National Congress, (iii) the Minister in-charge of Culture, (iv) the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, (v) the Governor of Punjab, (vi) the Chief Minister of Punjab, and (vii) three eminent persons nominated by the central government.
  • The 2018 amendment bill removes the President of the Indian National Congress as a Trustee.
  • Further, the bill clarifies that when there is no Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha will be the Trustee.
  • The 1951 act provided that the three eminent persons nominated by the central government will have a term of five years and will be eligible for re-nomination.
  • The 2018 bill added a clause to allow the central government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of his term without assigning any reason.

The government claimed that the bill was brought in to address various deficiencies in the management of the National Memorial and to ensure that the Trust is an apolitical entity.

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