Till now issues like the demand for Rahul Gandhi’s apology, a JPC probe in the Adani Group controversy, alleged Chinese intrusions, were among a range of issues that had led to acrimonious exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition Benches in Parliament, resulting in the stalling of the entire Budget Session.
However, a ruling on ‘Point of order’ by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday drew further protests and sloganeering between the two sides both in and out of Parliament.
Amid a logjam over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on democracy, Dhankhar rejected Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘Point of order’, saying there can be no issue or individual beyond the purview of discussion in the Upper House of Parliament.
Dhankar declined the ‘Point of order’ raised by Kharge on March 13 in which he objected to a call by the Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to come to the Rajya Sabha and apologise for ‘insulting’ the Parliament. The Congress said presiding officers in legislatures are expected to be fair, even-handed and non-partisan, and cannot display their biases or their loyalty to the ruling party.
In a letter to Dhankhar, Kharge said “as regards your ruling vis-a-vis my ‘Point of order’ with due humility, I must confess that I find it surprising. A simple reference to the content referred to by Piyush Goyal would have answered that question.”
Union Minister Piyush Goyal accused the Congress leaders of insulting Rajya Sabha while Kharge charged the Government with not allowing the Opposition to speak as trading of barbs and protests by the two sides led to a washout of one more day of proceedings. Goyal, without naming Rahul Gandhi, had demanded an apology on March 13 for “the shameless way by which a senior leader of the Opposition in a foreign country has attacked the democracy of India, insulted the Parliament of India”.
Reading out his decision in the midst of slogan shouting by Opposition members during the post-lunch session, the Chairman said, “Constitutional ‘privilege’ of ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘immunity’ from any civil or criminal action to Members of Parliament, calls for a high degree of care, caution and accountability.”
“This unique freedom privilege comes with heavy obligations. Breach of this privilege by engaging in reckless trading of allegations or free fall of information, invectives and innuendos or setting afoot pernicious narratives entail serious consequences, Dhankar added. “The sanctity of the temple of democracy cannot be permitted to be outraged as the privilege does not extend to engaging in demeaning parliament, making disparaging observations tarnishing constitutional institutions or set afloat narratives premised on reckless allegations of untenable fact premise,” Dhankhar said.
“After due consideration on the matter I am of the firm view that there can be no issue or individual beyond the purview of discussion in the Rajya Sabha and the same is exclusively subject to regulation by the House and the Chairman,” Dhankar said.
Kharge had cited a ruling given by late V V Giri on June 19, 1967 that “a member of one House should not use the freedom of speech on the floor of the House to make allegations or charge against the members of the other House”.
The other one was made on March 17, 1983 by the then Vice-Chairman in favour of L K Advani that stated: “Before referring to a member of the other House, one has to exercise a lot of care and caution...”.
Dhankhar said the authenticated record made available by Goyal, “bears out that his demand of apology on the overseas statements made by a senior leader of the opposition is factually premised and does not graduate to making ‘allegation of a defamatory or incriminatory nature’.”
“In view of categorical and firm constitutional prescriptions, I cannot persuade myself to sustain the point of order raised by the Hon’ble Leader of the Opposition Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and the same is hereby declined,” the Chairman said. In response, the Opposition members intensified their sloganeering.