Oppn protests against ignoring Ansari, RS MPs

The entire Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was united in protesting the exclusion of its chairman and Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India and MPs from the guest list during the official ceremony of the expansion of the Parliament House annexe on Monday.

Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad raked up the issue as soon as the House met pointing out that foundation for expansion of the annexe had been laid jointly by the Vice President and the then Speaker in 2009, but the former was ignored when the said new building was inaugurated.

In a scathing attack, Azad asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley whether the government wanted to say "goodbye" to the Rajya Sabha or ignore the Rajya Sabha completely just because it does not have a majority for a say in the House.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechuri added that the Rajya Sabha members and its chairman and deputy chairman were not even informed about the function. Yechuri inquired if there was any authorisation or document by which the Lok Sabha Speaker alone controls management and supervision of the Parliament House as a final authority. "This is an institutional insult of the Rajya Sabha which should not be tolerated," he said.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi kept mum about Monday’s function, but defended the Lok Sabha secretariat’s control over the Parliament House since 1952 and “we have not changed the arrangement.” Deputy Chairman Prof PJ Kurien tried to close the debate, but after the first 10-minute adjournment, he declared as ‘expunged’ any references to the Speaker, including from the Chair, with regards to the inauguration of the Parliamentary House annexe.

He said two issues were raised in the half-hour impromptu debate. As regards Monday’s function, the Chairman was "not invited" and the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has already written a letter to the Lok Sabha Secretariat about this "impropriety."

Opposition in Rajya Sabha was up in arms against the exclusion of its chairman Hamid Ansari and MPs from the guest list during the official ceremony of the expansion of Parliament House annexe