When lights went off in the Lok Sabha on Monday amid unruly scenes by members, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee declared: “I have turned the lights off out of shame.” The Speaker was unhappy with the members during the Question Hour. The NDA members were demanding a statement by the Government over the reported recommendation by the PMO for allocation of gas for the firms owned by Union Minister T R Baalu’s family. As most of the lights went off, the Lok Sabha became dim-lit with only some neon bulbs on. The situation continued for 10 minutes during which even live telecast was off air. While refusing to adjourn the House, the Speaker expressed “annoyance” at the behaviour of the members and condemned it.Later, during the Zero Hour, Chatterjee again voiced his unhappiness after a member continued to speak on some issue despite being told by the Speaker to conclude. “Defiance of the Chair has become a habit. It has become a disease,” he said.“Please agree to no work, no pay principle,” this is how the Lok Sabha Speaker responded while NDA members stood in the well. As the NDA members persisted with slogan-shouting, Chatterjee tried sarcasm: “We are concerned about cheerleaders in some cricket match; what will happen to cheerleaders here?”Members on treasury benches, including Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Bansal, Congress chief whip Madhusudan Mistry, Krishna Tirath and the entire DMK-bloc, tried to match the NDA, but the Speaker told them to resume their seats. Meanwhile, there was a power breakdown. With emergency lights on, someone blamed the power failure on the Government. The Speaker clarified. “I got it shut with regret. Out of shame, I have done it.” However, the Speaker’s office clarified later that Chatterjee had not ordered any power disconnection.To control the unruly behaviour of the members, the Speaker even took a dig at their keenness for publicity. “I have stopped live telecast,” he said, adding, “Your photo is not coming there. Of course, I want the people to see the behaviour of the members who are disturbing the House, whether it is this side or that side.” When even this failed to curb the disturbances, he asked the members: “You are educated people. Have you read rules? You want to raise this issue against rules and procedures.”
