Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee was on Tuesday suspended for one day from the joint parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing the Waqf Amendment Bill after he smashed a glass water bottle and threw it at Bhariya Janata Party MP Jagdambika Pal, the panel’s chairperson, reported The Hindu.

Pal told reporters he had never witnessed such scenes at a parliamentary committee in his 40-year career. “There is no place for violence in democracy,” he said, urging the Trinamool Congress to introspect about Banerjee’s behaviour.

According to India Today, the incident was triggered by a heated argument between Banerjee and BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay while the committee was hearing the views of two organisations from Odisha – Justice in Reality and Panchasakha Bani Prachar Mandali – on the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Nine of the 17 committee members voted to suspend Banerjee for a day on a resolution moved by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

This came days after several Opposition MPs boycotted a committee meeting and accused members of the Bharatiya Janata Party of using derogatory language against them. The controversy erupted after a heated exchange between BJP MPs Dubey, Dilip Saikia and Abhijit Gangopadhyay on the one hand and Banerjee and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on the other, about a proposal to include women in Waqf boards.

The Opposition leaders accused Pal of not conducting the proceedings as per rules and failing to take action against his party members. However, the BJP MPs claimed that the Opposition members were abusing Pal.

A waqf is a property given for a religious, educational or charitable cause to Muslims. In India, waqfs are governed under the Waqf Act. Each state has a Waqf Board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property. The Act was last amended in 2013.

On August 8, the Waqf Amendment Bill was sent to the parliamentary committee for scrutiny following objections from Opposition parties after the draft legislation was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

The panel had sought written suggestions from the public, experts, non-governmental organisations and institutions, among others, on the draft legislation. It received more than 1.2 crore email responses, both for and against the bill, according to reports.

Also read: Why Muslim leaders are objecting to new waqf bill