THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress state president K Sudhakaran has filed a complaint with the Lok Sabha speaker seeking action against Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi. He also demanded the resignation of the minister.
The complaint given to Speaker Om Birla comes in the wake of recent developments surrounding ‘unstarred’ question No. 980, which sought clarity on the government’s stance on declaring Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Drawing attention to previous incidents, including the undemocratic expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament, Sudhakaran stressed the gravity of the situation.
It should be recalled that during a press conference and on various social media platforms, Meenakshi Lekhi denied that she had put her signature on the answer to the Hamas question, vehemently denying her involvement in its formulation.
“I wish to contend that if proven true, these actions would not only constitute a breach of the Constitution but also raise serious questions about her commitment to her oath and a flagrant violation of parliamentary privilege.
As outlined in Article 75 (3) of the Constitution, the council of ministers is held accountable to Parliament. Additionally, Rule I (xvii) delineates the procedures for correcting answers to questions or inaccurate statements made by a minister,” said Sudhakaran. He also added that the Union minister’s disregard for accountability, publicly stating that she instructed the Foreign Secretary to remove the question without due process, directly undermines the privileges afforded to Members of Parliament.
Sudhakaran maintained that the subsequent statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, attributing the need for a technical correction to a different minister, does not absolve the issue. “The ministers collectively bear responsibility for answers prepared by the ministry. The purported lack of awareness by the minister regarding the appearance of the answer under her name without her signature raises serious ethical questions about parliamentary proceedings,” added Sudhakaran.