NEW DELHI: Political slugfest over Gujarat electioneering is set to linger, after the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu referred a complaint of breach of privilege against Congress president Rahul Gandhi to the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
With the BJP insisting that Gandhi had cast aspersions on Leader of the House Arun Jaitely with his tweet, the Lok Sabha privilege committee to which the matter is likely to be referred may witness the after-effects of the Gujarat Assembly elections.
According to sources, the reference of the Rajya Sabha Chairman has been received on Saturday evening.
“The Speaker is currently travelling abroad. She will be back on January 13, after which, as part of the normal exercise, she may refer the matter to the Privilege Committee of the House, since Gandhi is a Lok Sabha member,” sources said.
Rajya Sabha MP and BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav had given a notice on privilege under Rule 187 of The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business against Gandhi for his tweet against Jaitely. “Dear Mr. Jaitlie - thank you for reminding India that our PM never means what he says or says what he means . #BJP Lies (sic),” Gandhi had tweeted, which was mentioned by Yadav in his notice.
Yadav had added that the surname ‘Jaitely’ had been twisted to ‘Jaitlie’, “which in itself is highly derogatory and extremely unbecoming on part of the Congress president”.
Gandhi’s tweet had apparently come in response to Jaitely’s intervention in the Rajya Sabha in which he had stated that “the Prime Minister in his statement or speeches did not question nor did he mean to question the commitment to this nation of either Dr Manmohan Singh or Hamid Ansari, former Vice President”.
The Finance Minister’s statement had come amid deadlock in the Rajya Sabha over the Congress’ protests in the House against Prime Minister’s election speech in Palampur in Gujarat, wherein he had mentioned a secret meeting that was attended by Pakistani officials and Congress leaders.