NEW DELHI, 4 May 2008 — Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has referred the names of some members for unruly behavior in the house to the privileges committee for action. It is for the first time in India’s parliamentary history that the speaker has referred names of 32 legislators to the privileges committee for defying the chair and disrupting proceedings on April 24.
Chatterjee has no regrets for taking this action. If the legislators continue to misbehave in Parliament, he has warned them that the next time he would not refer their names to privileges committee but take unilateral action against them.
“I am warning each one of you that next time there may not be a reference to the privileges committee. I will not tolerate breach of discipline just for the sake of it,” Chatterjee said.
The majority of the “erring” legislators belong to the opposition, National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Denying that he had been biased in referring their names, Chatterjee said that if he had been motivated along such lines he could have suspended the legislators immediately. “I could have given punishment. There is a specific rule in the rulebook now that any member entering the well of the house will automatically be suspended for five days, if I’m not mistaken. I could have done that.”
On April 24, defying the chair’s call for orderly conduct, opposition members had stormed the well shouting slogans against rise in prices. Legislators facing the flak belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Akali Dal and Janata Dal-United (JD-U). Prominent among the members were BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain, P.S. Gadhavi, M.A. Kharabela Swain, Kishan Singh Sangwan and Kiran Maheswari.
Chatterjee has been persistently reminding members since April 15 that there is a rule that prohibits members from raising slogans on the floor of the house. “The members must realize the need to respect the rules of the house, so that the credibility of the highest democratic institution is not eroded.” To evolve consensus on this matter he has had three major meetings with leading members in less than four years. The last meeting was as recent as in August 2007, where he suggested the formula of “no work, no pay,” among other measures, but there was no consensus, sources close to the speaker said.
The speaker is also considering action against legislators who disrupted the proceedings for nearly 35 minutes on April 28.
While the Congress party has supported Chatterjee’s decision, the BJP plans to protest against it tomorrow when Parliament meets after a four-day recess.
“Under the rules, the speaker has the power to refer such matters to the privileges committee,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said. “The Speaker’s decision cannot be questioned.”
