A belligerent Congress on Tuesday raised concern over the impartiality of the Chair in the Lok Sabha, eliciting strong protests from the Treasury benches with the government asserting that the Speaker cannot be “threatened”.
Noisy protests led to two brief adjournments of the House.
The ruckus began after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to make a statement on the cancellation of a food park in Amethi, an issue raised by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi last week in the House.
Congress members created din questioning how the government was being allowed to speak on the same issue repeatedly whereas their party’s requests for adjournment motions are rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Expressing concern over the Chair allowing the government to issue statements repeatedly on the same issue, Congress member Deepender Hooda said it was not natural justice.
“This is not natural justice. This is not acceptable... It is not a personal aspersion. We believe that the Chair has not been fair,” he said as he raised a point of order quoting rule 356 of the House procedures.
“You cannot allow repetition, you cannot allow the government to repeat five times,” Hooda noted adding that the government side gave their version about five times in the House.
Rejecting Hooda’s contention that the food park issue was talked about five times in the House, Mahajan asked the member to first go through the records and then come back. “Are you challenging me,” she asked.
“If you don’t want me as a Speaker, then I have nothing to say,” a visibly upset Mahajan said.
Taking objection to Hooda’s remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “You cannot threaten the Speaker... no member should challenge the Speaker”.
Following the verbal debates, the House adjourned. However, on resuming the House, Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda apologised for his statements against the Speaker.
“If some words were said that insulted what the Speaker said, that was not our intention. I have never said anything like that in 10 years. I express regret over it,” Hooda said.
Image: Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge attacked the Speaker for being biased and not letting the Opposition voice its opinions.
