New Delhi: In a letter addressed to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar highlighted that the deliberate and strategic disruptions that unfolded during the winter session of Parliament resulted in the suspension of 146 Members of Parliament.
Dhankhar highlighted that Kharge had to endure discomfort in the House due to their differing positions, with Kharge declining his proposal for engagement within the Chamber.
“I wish your assertion in your December 22, 2023 communication ‘we firmly believe in fostering dialogue and discussion- was reflected in actions. During the entire session, despite my repeated requests in the House and by way of written communications to secure your indulgence for interaction, the same did not fructify,” Dhankhar said.
Dhankhar also said that the Congress leader’s refusal to meet him during the Winter session of Parliament was not in sync with parliamentary practices.
“Painfully I had to suffer in the House your stance ‘rejecting’ my offer for interaction in Chamber. On reflection you will agree that avoidance of interaction with the Chairman and rebuff to such request on the floor of the House by the Leader of the Opposition is unwholesomely unprecedented and certainly is not in sync with the well-established parliamentary practice of which you are a veteran,” Dhankhar said.
In his letter to Kharge, who is the leader of the opposition in the House, Dhankhar wrote, “We need to move ahead” and invited him for an interaction on December 25 “or a time of your convenience” at his official residence.
The letter by the Rajya Sabha Chairman came a day after the Congress President wrote to him, saying that the Opposition parties were prepared to engage in a meaningful discussion on the issue of security breach which neither was admitted nor was he, as the Leader of the Opposition, or any other Member of the Opposition parties permitted to speak on the floor of the House, even for a minute or two.
“At the outset, I would like to state that as a committed opposition, we firmly believe in fostering dialogue and discussion, which are fundamental pillars of any parliamentary democracy. I would like to bring to your attention that multiple notices were submitted under the relevant rules of the Rules and Procedure of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to address the pressing issue of the breach of Parliament security,” Kharge said in his letter written to Dhankhar on Friday.
However, Dhankhar today said that the premise of suspensions, contrary to Kharge’s stance was deliberate disorder in the House by way of sloganeering, raising placards, entering the well of the House and gesticulating towards the Chair,” he added.
He also said that before taking the unpleasant step, all efforts and initiatives were exhausted at his end to secure order in the House, including by way of brief adjournments and seeking interactions in the Chairman’s Chamber.
“The disorder was deliberate and strategised. I do not seek to embarrass you by indicating the predetermined role of the main opposition party in this communication, but will share with you when I have the benefit of interaction with you. You would recollect, I took similar recourse even when one of your members video-graphed proceedings of the House by sharing sensitive aspects of that episode with you in my Chamber,” he added.
Dhankhar also said that weaponising disruption and disturbance as a political strategy is no less than sacrileging the temple of democracy.
Kharge, in his letter written a day before, said he hoped that Dhankhar would accommodate the Opposition’s concerns and uphold the basic principle of parliamentary democracy, according to sources. “The Government will have its way, but the Opposition must have its say in letter and spirit,” Kharge wrote.
On the suspension of MPs, Kharge on Friday wrote to Dhankhar that “this… on such a large scale was detrimental to the core principles of India’s parliamentary democracy”.
“Witnessing the suspension of members was painful, agonising, frustrating and disheartening,” Kharge said, adding that he was “firmly in favour of dialogue and discussion”.
He, however, pointed out that the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the Parliament security breach would not be entertained, and neither he nor any other member of the Opposition was allowed to speak on the matter in the House. “I would like to state that, as a committed Opposition, we firmly believe in fostering dialogue and discussion which are fundamental pillars of any parliamentary democracy,” wrote Kharge.
Notably, a total of 146 MPs–100 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha–were suspended in the Winter session for creating a ruckus and disrupting proceedings in both Houses, for demanding a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah about the Parliament security breach incident.