Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 27: The opposition INDIA bloc has enlisted more grievances against the style of functioning of Parliament curtailing the voice of the opposition in continuation of what the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had said on Wednesday that the Parliament was being run only for the treasury benches.
A day after the speaker Om Birla snubbed the opposition and more particularly the LoP asking them to rigorously follow the Parliament rules, an INDIA bloc delegation on Thursday called on Mr Birla and submitted a memorandum raising concerns over a range of issues including the “politicisation of the statement made by Birla outside the House” and highlighting what they alleged was “disregard of Parliamentary procedures by the Union government.”
Mr Birla on Wednesday had abruptly adjourning the House after noting that members, especially Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, should conduct themselves “in a manner that maintains the high standards and dignity” of Parliament. He did not specify what was the issue he was referring to in snubbing Mr Gandhi but a video circulated on the social media by the BJP leaders showed it could be the instance when Mr Gandhi was seen walking to his sister and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi for a brief talk when the House session was on.
The incident, captured on video, has since circulated widely on social media, drawing public attention and sparking discussion about appropriate conduct within the Lok Sabha.
“Several instances have come to my notice where the conduct of members does not conform to the high standards,” the Speaker said. “In this House, father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife have been members. In this context, I expect the leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in accordance with Rule 349 that deals with rules to be observed by members in the House,” the Speaker said. “Especially, it is expected of the leader of the Opposition to conduct himself as per the rules,” Birla noted.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Thursday, on being asked if he will speak in Parliament today, said, “Won’t be allowed to speak… I don’t know what they are scared of.”
The memorandum submitted by the opposition, it is learnt, contained eight broad points, including “non-appointment of Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha.” “denial of speaking opportunity to the Leader of Opposition (LoP),” “disregard for Business Advisory Committee (BAC) decisions,” “neglect and rejection of adjournment motions,” “neglect of Private Members’ Bills and resolutions,” “exclusion of key ministries in Budget and Demand for Grants discussions,” “lack of discussions under Rule 193” (which allows for a discussion on matters of urgent public importance without voting), and “microphones of Opposition members being switched off.” All these points show that the voices of the opposition members being curtailed by not giving them the opportunity to express their views on the floor of Parliament.
Floor leaders of Opposition parties, including the Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, the DMK’s A Raja, the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmedra Yadav, the TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, and NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule. Representatives of the RJD, IUML, MDMK and RSP were also present at the meeting.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Gogoi, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, said, said, “We gave a letter to the Speaker that has the signatures of the people of INDIA Alliance, including RSP and Shiv Sena (UBT)… We wrote in the letter how the ruling party is violating the traditions, rules, and culture of the House…”
“We expressed our shared issues about the way the party in power is going against Parliament’s rules, conventions and culture of the House. We raised the issue that the Speaker read his statement yesterday. It wasn’t clear which subject and moment he was talking about. He said that members, and especially the LoP, should follow Rule 349, but he did not clarify which specific incident he was referring to. We saw that outside in the evening, this incident was politicised and propaganda was spread. We told the Speaker the same thing—that his statement was being politicised outside the House.”
Asked if the Speaker divulged what he was referring to on Wednesday when he spoke of maintaining “dignity in the House”, Gogoi said, “I don’t think it is suitable to discuss what the Speaker said in the meeting.” On Wednesday, when the House was abruptly adjourned, Mr Gandhi poke to reporters in the Parliament complex and said the “House was not being run as per democratic norms” and claimed that as the LoP, he was not allowed to speak in the House.
On Wednesday Mr Gandhi had alleged that Parliament was being run in a completely undemocratic manner. ”There is a rule that the leader of the Opposition is allowed to speak in the House, but whenever I want to speak, I am not allowed to speak. In a democracy, there is a place for the government and the Opposition, but there is no place for the Opposition in this House,” he lamented.
Mr Gandhi said the Speaker made remarks about him and then adjourned the House without giving him an opportunity to speak. ”The Speaker ‘just ran away’ when he attempted to speak,” he regretted.
Commenting on the issue, the Congress MP Rajeev Shukla said on Thursday, “Rahul Gandhi should not be questioned in such a manner. He has addressed everything. No one knows why the Speaker made such a remark about him. This is not understandable, and it is very wrong.”
