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Journalism of Courage
The last time that a member of the Opposition front was the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker was under the two Manmohan Singh-led UPA governments between 2004 and 2014. While Charanjit Singh Atwal, a leader of then BJP ally Akali Dal, was the Deputy Speaker in 2004-09, the BJP’s Kariya Munda held the post from 2009 to 2014.
Under the first Narendra Modi government, 2014-2019, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK, a party seen as friendly towards the BJP, was the Deputy Speaker. Throughout Modi’s second term, Parliament did not have a Deputy Speaker.
Now 87 and in the BJP since last year, Atwal says that what he remembers of his tenure, 20 years ago, was facing a tough time from the Opposition – despite being an MP from the Opposition front.
Atwal recalls that the Akali Dal had eight MPs in the Lok Sabha in 2004, while the BJP had 138. “Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (the late Akali Dal chief) asked former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and ex-home minister Lal Krishna Advani to push my name as Deputy Speaker. Badal Senior told BJP leaders that it would send a good message as the Congress had a Sikh, Manmohan Singh, as the PM.”
After the NDA put forward his name, Atwal told The Indian Express, “The Congress also supported me. I was elected Deputy Speaker unanimously.”
One of the biggest crises during his tenure came in August 2005. Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief who was then an MP and part of the anti-Congress opposition, hurled a sheaf of papers at the Speaker – when Atwal was in the Chair – when she was not allowed to raise the subject of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.
Says Atwal: “Then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had denied Mamata Banerjee the opportunity to raise some questions. She tried to raise the same questions when I was in the Chair. But it would have set a bad precedent if I had allowed her as it had been denied by Chatterjee. So I didn’t allow her and she walked out after throwing the papers at the Chair. The next day, the press praised me for my conduct.”
He adds that Mamata too “would have suffered consequences politically in her state if I had taken action”. “I ignored her behaviour and didn’t lose my temper.”
Atwal again faced tempestuous moments in July 2008 when Opposition MPs suddenly flashed bundles of currency notes, claiming these were being distributed by government supporters to bribe MPs ahead of the trust vote against the Manmohan Singh government.
Atwal was presiding over the House when Ashok Pradhan of the BJP walked to the table of Parliament staffers, accompanied by a colleague, and went on to place two leather bags on the table and pull out bundles of Rs 100 notes. He claimed they were part of the bribes being offered ahead of the trust vote later in the day.
“It was Rs 3 crore. I confiscated the amount as soon as it was placed on the table. It was a very difficult situation. But I managed to resume the House soon after,” Atwal says.
The 87-year-old recalls another incident when then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked him if he would rather have someone else in the Chair as the Budget debate happened. “He asked if I foresaw any problem. I assured him that there would be no issue and the Budget was passed while I was in the Chair,” says Atwal, adding that he was very conscious of his post when in the Chair, and of not being merely a member of the Opposition.
On whether the Modi government should follow suit like in his case and pick a member from the Opposition to be Deputy Speaker, Atwal steers clear of the question. “It is not any legal compulsion (to do so), but a convention,” he says. “It is up to the ruling party to follow it or not. Now I am a part of the party, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on whether the convention should be followed or not.”
