MPs tear papers, jostle with security staff in Rajya Sabha
Venkaiah: Spent sleepless night after ‘sacrilege in temple of democracy’
New Delhi, Aug. 11: Expressing deep anguish over some opposition MPs climbing on the table in the House, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said he couldn’t sleep because of the sacrilege in the “temple of democracy”.
Referring to Tuesday’s events, Naidu said he struggled to find a provocation for the low in the “august House”. Parliament, the apex legislature of the country is regarded as the “temple of democracy”, he said.
The table area where the officers and reporters of the House, the secretary general and the presiding officer are seated is considered the holy sanctum sanctorum of the House, an emotional Naidu said as the Rajya Sabha assembled for the day.
“I rise in deep anguish to place on record the way this august House is being subjected to sacrilege and that too propelled by a sense of competition among some sections of the House since the commencement of this monsoon session,” the Rajya Sabha chairman said.
There were ugly scenes in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as Opposition MPs climbed on the officials’ table, waved black cloth and threw files when the House began a discussion on the farmers’ protest against new reform laws. Several MPs stood on the table where the parliamentary staff sits right below the chair, while others crowded around it shouting antigovernment slogans.
A few members squatted on the table for over oneand-half hours during which proceedings were adjourned multiple times.
No sooner was a discussion on the farmers' issues called, MPs belonging to opposition parties including the Congress and the TMC trooped into the Well shouting slogans seeking withdrawal of the controversial farm reform legislations.
According to Naidu, a certain degree of sacredness is attached to the place. In temples, devotees are allowed only up to the sanctum sanctorum and not beyond, he said, adding that entering the area is itself an act of sacrilege. While some members sat on the table, others climbed on it, perhaps to be more visible, he said.
“I have no words to convey my anguish and to condemn such acts. As I spent a sleepless night last night, I struggled to find the provocation or reason for forcing this august House to hit such a low on Tuesday,” he said.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented security staff deployment inside the Rajya Sabha chamber to prevent a repeat of the ugly scenes of members climbing on tables did not deter Opposition MPs from creating a ruckus on Wednesday as they tore papers, jostled with the marshals and attempted to go near the presiding officer’s chair.
After a peaceful debate and the smooth passage of a Bill to restore the states’ powers to identify and notify their own lists of OBCs, all hell broke loose when the insurance amendment Bill to privatise the state-run general insurance companies was taken up.
Calling it a sell-off, the Opposition MPs stormed into the Well of the House shouting anti-government slogans.
They were, however, prevented from going anywhere near the table of the House or the chair by a wall of about 50 security staff that sort of cordoned off what Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu referred to as the “sanctum sanctorum”.
A cross-gender staff deployment -- female officers where male MPs were protesting and male officers where female MPs were protesting -was made.
But this did not deter the MPs belonging to a cross-section of opposition parties - from the Congress to the Left to the TMC and to the DMK.
They tore papers, believed to be copies of the Bill, and lofted those towards the chair and the House officers. Some tried to break the cordon and jostled with the security staff.