Papers torn, ministers blocked, marshals targeted: House report
NEW DELHI: Opposition MPS tore papers, obstructed ministers from taking their seats, choked one marshal, dragged and pushed another, took videos, and even climbed on a LED TV stand, according to a report by the Rajya Sabha secretariat on the pandemonium that rocked the Upper House in the final hours of the disruption-hit monsoon session.
The Opposition denied these contentions, and blamed the government for the unruly scenes in the House, which, they said, were sparked by “outsiders” acting as marshals.
According to the report, submitted to Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday, the trouble started at 6.02pm with Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen allegedly making a noose out of scarf and putting it around the neck of her party colleague Shanta Chhetri, purportedly shouting slogans.
The report alleged that as Opposition leaders rushed to the Well, Congress member Phulo Devi Netam and Chhaya Verma allegedly started tearing papers and throwing them towards the table of the House, four minutes later.
At 6.10pm, Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam and Communist Party of Indiamarxist’s Elamaram Kareem allegedly snatched papers and folders kept on the Table of the House. Soon, Rajmani Patel of the Congress and Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena allegedly joined them, the report added.
Opposition parties rejected the charges with the Congress saying that the developments in the Rajya Sabha were “unprecedented, shocking and an assault on the very dignity of the Rajya Sabha”. “There was no provocation from any opposition member and including women members, who were manhandled and they fell down,” said Congress leader Anand Sharma.
“I don’t believe any Rajya Sabha report. They are trying to deflect attention,” Trinamool Congress member Derek O’brien told news channel NDTV.
The report, a copy of which was accessed by HT, said that when the House met after a short break, Akhilesh Prasad Singh of the Congress was making videos.
According to the report, at 6.22pm, Sen obstructed “the way of Piyush Goyal (leader of the House) and Pralhad Joshi (minister of parliamentary affairs) coming from the chairman’s chamber to take their respective seats in the House.”
“They were also being pushed by her,” the report added.
“Sen also argued and pushed lady officials of Parliament Security Service. Opposition MPS Syed Nasir Hussain, Arpita Ghosh, and Priyanka Chaturvedi tore papers and threw those towards the secretariat’s table,” the report said.
The report said that at 6.29pm, Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain “first pushed (Shiv Sena’s) Sanjay Raut towards security officials cordoning the ‘Table of the House’ and subsequently pulled him back. They were joined by other MPS viz. Elamaram Kareem (CPM), Ripun Bora (Congress), Binoy Viswam and Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh.”
“Ripun Bora climbed on the LED TV stand installed on the left side of the Chair. Elamaram Kareem manhandled and severely choked the neck of one male marshal and dragged him in order to break the security cordon,” the report said.
“One lady marshal was pulled and dragged by Phulodevi Netam and Chhaya Verma and assaulted in the Well of the House. Syed Nasir Hussain and Sh. Elamaram Kareem caught hold of shoulder of one male marshal (Security official from PSS/RSS) and tried to drag him out of the security cordon, who was trying to protect the lady Marshal as mentioned above,” the report added.
The report came amid bitter exchanges between the government and Opposition over ugly scenes that played out in the House of Elders in its final hours on Wednesday. On Thursday, Naidu and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla met to discuss the disruption-hit session.
In the last five sessions, the House ran well, and the MPS fulfilled their responsibilities. Earlier, efforts were made to run the House smoothly, and that’s why the House ran for long, even till midnight. But, in this session, the deadlock continued. The Opposition made some specific demands, while the government maintained that we should first discuss the issues identified during the all-party meeting (held on July 18 when the Pegasus controversy broke). So, a consensus couldn’t be reached on the business. I tried my best and repeatedly appealed to both sides that the House is meant to debate and discuss issues. But, despite my efforts, deadlock continued.
People had started believing that the Lok Sabha is the place where public issues are discussed. A positive image of India’s democratic institutions had started building as Parliament also acts as a margdarshak (guide) to other
The logjam could have ended with a debate on the Pegasus issue.
It’s between the government and the Opposition. They couldn’t agree. As the Speaker, I can’t impose any debate on the House.
Several bills were being passed without any discussion. Do you think it is the right way to conduct legislative business?
I always favour that every bill is debated in the House before passage. But despite every effort,
In this session, all bills, except the Constitution amendment bill were passed amid din. Is it a new normal in the House that bills would continue to be cleared even amid din, and when the House is not in order?
Our job is pass the bills after debate. But sometimes, due to deadlock, debate can’t take place. If I am able to conduct a debate on the bill, I will definitely do it. But, at times, debate can’t take place but the minister may insist that the bill be passed. As the Speaker of the House, I have to allow that.