A day after the tumultuous winter session of Parliament came to an end, Congress President and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and said that suspension of MPs on such a large scale is detrimental to the core principles of our Parliamentary Democracy. The Congress President said that he is ready to meet the Vice-President to address the concerns constructively.
“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. The Opposition parties were prepared to engage in a meaningful discussion on the matter….I want to reiterate my commitment to open discussion and dialogue. I am more than willing to engage in a meeting with you at a mutually convenient date and time in the near future to address these concerns constructively…” the letter said.
“I am also hopeful that as Chairman you will accommodate the concerns of the Opposition at all times. The Government will have its way but the Opposition must, you will readily agree, have its say. I have no doubt that you will uphold this basic principle of parliamentary democracy in letter and spirit,” the Congress President added.
The letter came in response to the Jagdeep Dhankhar letter earlier in the day where the Rajya Sabha chairman said that Mallikarjun Kharge’s refusal to meet him was not in sync with parliamentary practices. The sources close to the Vice-President revealed that Dhankhar sought an interaction with Kharge or a “healthy way forward.”
Turbulent winter session
The chaotic winter session of Parliament was adjourned sine die on Thursday, one day ahead of the schedule. The session saw some of the major incidents, which are expected to go down in the history of the Parliament. The Opposition was looking more accommodative in the beginning, but as the Parliament security breach incident occurred on 13th December, the House erupted into chaos.
What followed was an intense confrontation between the government and the Opposition over the demand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on the security breach incident in the House.
As the matters escalated, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla, and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar started suspending the protesting MPs and the number finally totaled up to an unprecedented 146 by the end of the winter session.
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Published: 22 Dec 2023, 10:55 PM IST