Rajya Sabha: Oppn says ‘LoP’s mike muted’, walks out; govt sticks to its stand

Opposition parties upped the ante in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday in the wake of AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s suspension and government refusal to set aside listed business to hold a discussion on the lingering violence in Manipur. In a joint effort, 50 Opposition leaders gave notice under Rule 267 on Manipur and later staged a walk-out from the House when Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s mike was allegedly muted while he was speaking.

Singh continued with a sit-in at Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament House after his suspension. Other Opposition leaders joined him while veterans like Sharad Pawar and Kharge visited him on Tuesday.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien had “rightly” pointed out that Rule 267 (suspension of listed business to take up an important issue) should take precedence over Rule 176 (Short Duration Discussion) but then quoted his July 20 ruling that a discussion under Rule 176 will be held on Manipur, insisting the decision was taken earlier and would get priority.

Dhankhar and Congress leader P Chidambaram had a tiff when the latter emphasised that since the notices under Rule 267 was fresh, the Chairman should give them precedence, more so as he himself acknowledged O’Brien’s suggestion was right. Dhankhar charged Chidambaram with insulting the Chair by asking “how can you do this?” on his decision to not accept notices under Rule 267. Chidambaram asked the Chair to read the minutes of the proceedings and insisted Dhankhar was contradicting himself.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal suggested the demand for discussion on attacks on women in Rajasthan (notice by Ghanshyam Tiwari and Kirori Lal Meena) and Chhattisgarh (notice by Ramilaben Bara) under Rule 176, be included in the discussion. With the Opposition continuing its protest, Goyal alleged they were ‘behaving in this manner to hide the shortcomings’ of their state governments. He said the home minister will make things crystal clear on Manipur when the debate is held. Goyal asked the Opposition to “show some sensitivity” on attacks on women and agree to the discussion.

Manoj Jha (RJD) said the government made a wrong comparison between Manipur and Rajasthan. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan cases are not “genocidal” as is the case with Manipur, he said.In the second half, when government moved Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022, for discussion and passage, Kharge rose to demand that Manipur be discussed first as the state was burning and women were being raped. His mike went mute and the Opposition objected to this and staged a walkout. Earlier, Raghav Chadha (AAP) argued he had sought division on the resolution moved on Monday to suspend Singh but his plea was ignored and the motion passed by a voice vote.