Sir — This refers to the news report, “Speaker interrupted Sushma 60 times in 6-min speech” (May 3). This is not the first time that the presiding authority of the lok Sabha has acted in a partisan manner.
Since the advent of parliamentary democracy in India in 1950, we have had a proud record of presiding officers of both the Houses of Parliament observing professional neutrality. This was in spite of the fact that they belonged to the Congress, the dominant political outfit in a largely one-party rule situation. But, with the disappearance of Congress stalwarts from the scene, narrow-minded politicians have taken over. Progressively, the healthy, accommodative spirit of parliamentary discussions has declined.