NEW DELHI: Upset at the chaos in Parliament for two consecutive days, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday reminded the MPs to maintain decorum as “135 crore people are laughing”, and that “we are not children.”
His remarks came after the Upper House saw noisy scenes over leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s comments that “has even a dog of the BJP died” during India’s freedom struggle. Soon after papers were laid in the Upper House, members of the treasury benches were up on their feet, demanding an apology from Kharge, though he refused to relent. The House saw uproarious scenes as both sides exchanged heated words.
As tempers ran high, Dhankhar repeatedly requested the MPs to sit down and maintain order, but in vain. “We are setting a very bad example. This kind of conduct gives Parliament a bad name. Even the observations of the chair that are wholesome are indigestible. What a painful scenario we are having,” he said.
Taking exception to the unruly scenes played out in the House, the Vice President said, “Trust me, 135 crore people are laughing at us and thinking – what level we have fallen to.” “This House, on both sides, is a platform of expression. This House has to reflect and take note of everything that happens outside…everything spoken here carries a great weight.
Anyone who wants to talk anything should take recourse to rules,” he said. “In performing my constitutional duties, I will neither look at this side, nor at this side; I will look only to the Constitution,” he said, proceeding to tell Mr Kharge to make his point.
At a rally in Rajasthan on Monday, Kharge said that while Congress leaders have sacrificed their lives to attain Independence for the country, “BJP hasn’t even lost a dog” for the country. He also took a dig at the BJP government saying that though “the BJP talks like a lion, it acts like a mouse”.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Piyush Goel and Kiran Rijiju sought an apology from Kharge, for his ‘foul’ language. “I demand an apology. The way he used foul language reflected his thinking, jealousy,” said Goel. However, Kharge stuck to his guns and repeated that the BJP had no role in the freedom struggle. “What I said during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan’s Alwar was outside the House. What I said was politically outside the House, not inside. There is no need to discuss that here,” said Kharge amid the din.
Expressing his disappointment over the repeated interruptions, Dhankar said, “Something may have been said outside the House in a moment of emotion.”