Acrimonious exchanges involving the Opposition and the government, and between Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge forced the Upper House to adjourn for the day on Friday without transacting business.
The ongoing logjam in the Upper House intensified after Dhankhar accused the Opposition of “insulting a farmer’s son” in a possible reference to the notice submitted by INDIA bloc lawmakers to move a motion to remove the Rajya Sabha chairman. Kharge retorted and said that he was belittled for being “a Dalit and the son of a farm labourer”.
Dhankhar’s attempt to break the ice by inviting Kharge and the Leader of the House, JP Nadda, to his chamber for a discussion also did not fructify, as the LoP declined the invite and Nadda was scheduled to travel to Chhattisgarh.
In a reinforcement of Opposition unity, leaders of the INDIA bloc put up a spirited defence of the Congress president when a heated exchange took place between Dhankhar and Kharge, both accusing the other of belittling each other and the caste they belong to.
On Friday, the Rajya Sabha was off to a rocky start when the Chairman gave the floor to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal who took on the Opposition for submitting a notice to bring a motion for the removal of Dhankhar. The BJP MP, referring to media reports and posts on social media, alleged that the Opposition had insulted the Chairman’s office and proceeded to allege that the “Congress has a history of disrespecting Presidents and vice-presidents”.
{{/usCountry}}On Friday, the Rajya Sabha was off to a rocky start when the Chairman gave the floor to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal who took on the Opposition for submitting a notice to bring a motion for the removal of Dhankhar. The BJP MP, referring to media reports and posts on social media, alleged that the Opposition had insulted the Chairman’s office and proceeded to allege that the “Congress has a history of disrespecting Presidents and vice-presidents”.
{{/usCountry}}“The first President of the country, Dr Rajendra Prasad, was constantly humiliated by Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. They were not even given accommodation in Delhi. He had to go to Sadaqat Ashram. He used to be sick; he needed a breathing machine for treatment... these people removed the breathing machine. The president died due to lack of medicine... The then President wanted to visit Patna on his death, but the PM forbade Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to go for the rites...,” he said, even as the Opposition rose in protest.
The ruckus intensified when Opposition members, including the LoP, demanded a chance to speak, but the Chair allowed BJP members to continue. From 11.14am to 11.32am, only BJP MPs got a chance to speak. After Agarwal, Surinder Nagar, Neeraj Shekhar and Kiran Chaudhary were all given the floor to express their condemnation of the Opposition’s notice.
When Congress’s deputy leader Pramod Tiwari rose to speak and defend the LoP, the chairman criticised the Opposition and said they had insulted a “farmer’s son” and that he would no longer put up with it.
“I am a farmer’s son; I will not show weakness. I will sacrifice my life for my country. You (Opposition) have only one job 24 hours a day, why is a farmer’s son sitting here... look what you are saying. I have tolerated a lot... you have the right to bring a motion, but you are insulting the Constitution,” he said.
He was referring to the notice, signed by around 60 INDIA bloc members on December 10 seeking his removal. The notice is based on Article 67(b) of the Constitution, which says that such a resolution cannot be moved unless a notice of at least 14 days has been provided.
The Chairman took umbrage to the Opposition leaders making public statements about their notice to bring a no confidence motion and said they ought to follow the due process of giving 14 days’ notice before the motion can be taken up.
“Who has blocked your resolution? Your resolution will be put to vote after 14 days. Yet you give such statements outside, giving the impression that the Chair is sitting on it,” he said.
Dhankhar alleged that there is a campaign against the Chairman. “...It’s a campaign not against me, it’s a campaign against category to which I belong. I am personally pained for a reason that the main opposition party has put is as a blitz as a campaign against the Chairman,” he said.
Dhankhar also reiterated that Kharge showed him disrespect by not agreeing to meet him when the Chairman sought meetings “at his convenience”.
But the Opposition doubled down, with a visibly emotional Kharge leading the charge.
“You are encouraging the (BJP) members to speak against members of other parties... I am also a son of a kisan mazdoor (farm labourer). I have faced more challenges than you...You had a machine to count notes, my father earned after toiling hard,” he said.
Amid sloganeering from both sides, Kharge said, “You are insulting our party leaders, you are insulting the Congress... you have allowed member after member (from the ruling side) to insult me. We have not come here to listen to your tareef (praise), we have come here for discussion...”
At this Dhankhar shot back, “We know whose tareef you like to listen to...” But the Opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien and Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh demanded that the LoP be allowed to speak. The opposition members also complained that the cameras were focused only on the Chairman and did not show the LoP and other opposition leaders making their point.
Speaking outside Parliament, TMC’s Sushmita Dev said, “BJP MPs are responsible for hurting the dignity of the House in Rajya Sabha. Since this winter session started, we have been saying repeatedly that people’s issues like poverty, unemployment, Manipur should be discussed...The match-fixing starts from the moment Parliament starts...The issues of the public are suppressed and only the mics of the ruling party work...BJP is disrespecting the Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders of Opposition...This kind of behaviour lowers the dignity of the House.”
Tiruchi Siva of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam also tried to raise a point of order, which prevents MPs from making derogatory or inflammatory comments against others. “We are all saddened by the state of democracy in our country. At least we have got a chance to speak before you. Whatever happened in the Upper House today was not telecast properly. Whatever the members of the ruling party spoke was telecast. And on all other occasions, even when the Leader of the Opposition was speaking, he was not shown,” Siva said.
Congress’ s Digvijaya Singh also condemned statements made against the LoP. “When the rules are not being followed by the Chair itself, what can we expect from the Chairman... Opposition MPs are not being allowed to speak in Parliament...No action is being taken against the judge who spoke against the Constitution...The Chairman of Rajya Sabha has never taken a decision in the interest of farmers...We condemn the statements made against the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge,” he said.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh told reporters that the BJP has always disrespected Dalits and has shown no respect for Kharge, who is a Dalit and has over 50 years of experience in politics. “The BJP is talking about farmers who they fired tear gas shell at and beat with sticks... We will not allow BJP to divert attention from real issues... India will not tolerate the disrespect of Dalits,” he said.