‘Demeaning constitutional position,’ Nadda on Congress' ‘cheerleader’ jibe at Jagdeep Dhankhar
JP Nadda said that the comments by Mallikarjun Kharge against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar sets a bad example and should be condemned by everyone.
Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and Union minister JP Nadda on Thursday said that the Chair should not be questioned or criticised about admissibility, calling it contempt of the House and Chairman.
He also condemned Mallikarjun Kharge for criticising the Chair in a press conference the day before, calling it wrong.
“The Chair cannot be questioned with regard to admissibility or for any other purposes. The Chairman's ruling cannot be questioned or criticised; to do so is contempt of the House and the Chairman. It is very sad that yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, a very senior leader criticised the Chair during a press conference. This sets a wrong tradition that should be condemned by everyone,” Nadda said.
Responding to Kharge's allegation that he was not being given an opportunity in the House, Nadda said that the Leader of the Opposition had been invited to the chamber by the Chairman but had not participated in the discussions.
“He did not take part in the last BAC meeting, this shows how much interest he has in democracy,” Nadda said.
Nadda alleged that the Chairman had been called “cheerleader” from Congress's official handle.
“The way an attempt has been made to demean a constitutional position is a blow to constitutional values. People of India will not excuse this,” he said.
Read: Who is George Soros and what are BJP's allegations against Sonia Gandhi?
He also referred to a senior leader of Congress making a video of alleged mimicry of the Chairman in the parliament premises.
"Congress is neither interested in constitutional processes, nor has respect," he said.
Nadda said that the press conference on Wednesday was an attempt to deviate attention from the key issue of the relationship between the senior leader of Congress and George Soros.
“What is the relationship between Sonia Gandhi and Soros. What he does to destabilise the country, Congress follows like a puppet. It can't be condemned enough,” said Nadda.
Kharge referred to Nadda's comments about contempt and said they wanted to divert attention. As he was speaking, the Chairman asked if he (Kharge) had accepted his invitation. The House was then adjourned till 2 pm.
The Rajya Sabha failed to function on Wednesday with uproar from the Treasury and Opposition benches over the no-confidence notice against House Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
With ANI inputs