With the Rajya Sabha witnessing din for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged the agitating members to talk to the Treasury Benches to break the impasse. He, however, rejected the demand for revoking suspension of 12 MPs and said "disapproval of undemocratic conduct in the House cannot be decried as undemocratic."
Naidu’s assertion came as the Opposition described the suspension of the 12 MPs on Monday as “undemocratic and in violation of the rules” of the house. The Chairman also reiterated he had followed all the rules before taking action against the concerned MPs for their “unruly conduct.” They also did not show any remorse after the suspension, Naidu lamented adding the house had seen 11 suspensions in the past with the first one in 1962.
Even as he made these observations, the Opposition members continued to shout slogans and came into the well of the house. Naidu appealed to them to let the proceedings go on smoothly but the agitated members did not relent. He adjourned the house for about 50 minutes in the pre-lunch session. The Opposition later walked out during the Question Hour.
He said some of the leaders and Rajya Sabha members "in their wisdom, chose to describe the suspension of 12 members as undemocratic".
"I have struggled to understand if there was any justification in that kind of a narrative being propagated but could not." This was not the first time that such a suspension has happened. Starting in 1962 till 2010, members were suspended on 11 occasions in furtherance to motions moved by the governments of the day. "Were all of them undemocratic? If so, why was it resorted to so many times?" Naidu asked.
Responding to the Opposition charge of his action being undemocratic, Naidu said "not even a word is being said about the reasons given for the suspension, the disdainful conduct of some members during the last session, which I have categorically called as 'acts of sacrilege' on the last day of the last session", he said.
As opposition members, including from Congress, kept protesting, Naidu said the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) clearly provide for the suspension of members for disrupting the proceedings of the House and for misconduct lowering its dignity, under Rules 255 and 256.
The reasons for the latest suspensions were in the public domain and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi gave the reasons while moving the Motion for suspension on the first day of this session, he said.
"Unfortunately, a message is sought to be sent out that 'sacrilege' of the House is democratic but action against such sacrilege is undemocratic. I am sure people of the country would not buy these new norms of democracy," Naidu said.
He also pointed out there were suspensions in the past and some of them were revoked prematurely because the errant members regretted their acts of misconduct in the House.
"I am deeply pained to know from media reports of categorical refusalsto express any regret for the acts of misconduct during the last session that led to this round of suspensions. Then what is the way forward?
"You don't want to regret your misconduct but insist on revoking the decision of this House taken as per due procedure laid under the Rules of the House. Does this amount to upholding the principles of democracy?" Naidu said. "It is human to err and it is also human to make amendments. One cannot refuse to amend and insist on glossing over the wrongdoings.
"Suspensions, either in the past or now, are only the expression of disapproval of the acts of misconduct of some members by the House.
Disapproval of undemocratic conduct in the House can't be decried as undemocratic, for sure," he added.
Naidu urged both the treasury and opposition benches to resolve the impasse. "I urge both the sides of this august House please talk it out and then find a way to do the mandated job of this house. This is my appeal to the entire House," he said.
However, the protest by opposition parties continued with Congress MPs insisting that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge be allowed to speak. Naidu did not agree, saying Kharge has already spoken on the matter.