For the second consecutive day, the Congress raised a din in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday on Uttarakhand issue forcing repeated adjournments. leader of the House Arun Jaitley’s remark that the Speaker of Uttrakahand Assembly ruled in favour of a minority group there in an unprecedented manner led to an uproar with the Congress demanding expunging of his remarks.
Congress members, time and again, stormed into the Well of the House raising slogans in the pre-and post-lunch session demanding a debate on imposition of Presidents’s Rule in the hill State and passing of resolution condemning it.
As the main Opposition party and the BJP exchanged sharp words, Jaitley said in the pre-lunch session it had never happened in the last 68 years that the Presiding Officer of the Assembly changed majority into minority and vice-versa.
His remark that the Speaker ignored the vote of 35 out of 67 members against the Appropriation Bill and ruled in favour of the minority group to declare the Bill passed led to a vociferous protest by the Congress and many of its members trooped into the Well forcing the first adjournment. Similar scenes were seen during the Question Hour and Chairman Hamid Ansari first adjourned the proceedings for 30 minutes and then till 2 pm.
When the House met after lunch, several Opposition members from Congress and JD(U) sought expunction of Jaitley’s remarks against the Speaker as it was akin to questioning his decision.
Congress leader Anand Sharma, who in the pre-lunch session, charged the ruling combine with using undemocratic method to impose President’s Rule, said the remarks were deplorable and should be expunged.
leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said he respected Jaitley because he had always spoken for maintaining the dignity of the Speaker. The Congress leader also said he and his party had always listened to Jaitley on the decision of the Speaker being supreme even when the Opposition had earlier questioned the lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to bring in certain Bills as money Bills.
However, Jaitley was now questioning the decision of the Speaker of the (Uttarakhand) Assembly, Azad said, adding “we cannot accept two understandings. A bad practice” was being set by questioning the ruling of the Speaker and imposing President’s Rule, the leader of Opposition said.
Countering Azad’s contention, Jaitley asked how the Appropriation Bill was passed in the Assembly and reiterated that 35 out of 67 legislators had written to the Governor saying they had voted against it.
“It was breakdown of constitutional machinery. A defeated Bill was shown as being passed,” Jaitley asserted, adding “It is for the first time in 70 years that a defeated Government was allowed to continue.”
Jaitley accused the Congress of not waiting for the proclamation to be placed in the House for debate.
Azad immediately retorted and said the NDA Government had not even waited for “24 hours” before declaring President’s Rule, even when the Governor had given time till March 28 to prove majority in the Assembly following consultations between him, the Speaker and the Government.
Seeking a discussion on the anti-defection law, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi suggested that no defector should be made a Minister for the next five years. Posing a question to Jaitley, Tyagi said the BJP leader always stood for morals and even went to jail as a young man. “But such things are being done even when you are around. We should all agree and have a discussion on the anti-defection law,” he said.