The bill seeks to remove Congress president as permanent member of the trust that runs the memorial.
A bill which seeks to remove the Congress president as a permanent member in a trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The bill seeks to make the body "apolitical".
The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (amendment) Bill, moved by Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, seeks to "delete" the mention of 'President of the Indian National Congress' as a trustee.
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 Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member of the trust.
The bill also confers power to the central government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of the term, without giving 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 Chief Minister as its members.
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.