BJP, INDIA bicker over Parliament decorum: ‘Unsavoury remarks’ by Oppn, ‘Modi, Modi chants from visitors’ gallery’

Dubey, in his letter, also alleged that Ali was “busy in instigating” Bidhuri with his utterances in the House. So, Dubey said, the aspect of breach of privilege raised by Ali and others on the issue “cannot be applied in isolation as otherwise there will be a serious and irrevocable miscarriage of justice”.

In a coordinated move, several Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha wrote identical letters to Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar flagging the issue of “political sloganeering” from the visitors’ gallery on Thursday (September 21), the day the House passed the women’s reservation Bill. “I write to you with grave concern and deep disappointment regarding the shocking incident that unfolded in the Rajya Sabha on September 21, 2023, during the Special Session. A group of people sitting in the Visitor’s Gallery was heard sloganeering, creating a ruckus in the precincts of the House. The incident in question not only caused a commotion but also raised serious questions about the enforcement of rules and regulations within the esteemed House,” said the MPs.

A senior Opposition leader claimed there were “Modi, Modi” chants from the visitors’ gallery. “The fact that over 50 visitors were able to raise slogans is a matter of grave concern. In response to this serious breach, members from the Opposition parties walked out in protest,” the MPs wrote in their letters.

“It is imperative that the incident be thoroughly investigated to identify how such a breach of security and decorum was possible within the confines of the Rajya Sabha. The individual responsible for the disruption must be held accountable for their actions. Any MP found to be involved in facilitating this incident should also face appropriate consequences,” the Opposition leaders wrote, pointing out that the incident was a “clear violation of Rule 264, which explicitly outlines the conduct expected of individuals in the Visitor’s Gallery during parliamentary sessions”.

On Friday, the INDIA bloc in another coordinated move had written letters to Speaker Birla seeking referral of Bidhuri’s matter to the privilege committee. Among those who wrote the letters were Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK’s Kanimozhi, and TMC’s Aparupa Poddar.

Nishikant Dubey’s allegations

Dubey, in his letter, alleged Ali was “busy instigating Bidhuri with his superlatives” and “made a highly objectionable and blasphemous remark” about Prime Minister Narendra Modi “by consuming his entire lung-power, notwithstanding the availability of microphone, that ‘neech ko neech nahi kahenge to kya kahenge (what should we call lowly people, if not lowly)?’”. It was “more than enough for any patriotic public representative to lose his calm and fall into his trap by uttering unsavoury words”, he said.

Dubey condemned Bidhuri’s “highly objectionable words” against Ali and pointed out that the remarks were expunged and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had apologised to the House. Dubey said he was opposed to the usage of any such words by any MP against another member or on the religious-cultural faith of other communities. But, he claimed, Ali was indulging in a “running commentary” and making “unsavoury remarks” towards one and all, “instigating” Bidhuri to “lose his calm and composure”.

Dubey further said he was sharing the “rants” uttered by other Opposition leaders and quoted TMC’s Saugata Roy purportedly questioning the existence of Lord Ram and the Pushpak Viman and a DMK MP purportedly saying there is no God and Hinduism is not a religion. Dubey later said that DMK’s A Raja had made this remark.

Dubey wrote that these remarks “clearly go on to show” that other members and parties also made unsavoury remarks or comments against the “cherished faith” of another community. He added, “If Shri Bidhuri has committed an inappropriate act, then, in my view, other Honourable Members, including Shri Danish Ali, have also contributed to spreading enmity amongst communities.”

So, Dubey said, an inquiry committee should be constituted to investigate the utterances made by various members during the discussion on Chandrayaan-3. He said the committee should also “inquire the extent of culpability of various other members of Parliament in instigating our citizens by way of their comments made in the House by taking the shelter of Article 105 of our Constitution”. Article 105 refers to freedom of speech in Parliament.