Outlining his ideas on the steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the Rajya Sabha, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari on Sunday said any Upper House member who rushes to the the Well or indulges in “gross disorderly behaviour” should be named in the House bulletin.
AIADMK member V Maitreyan, however, blamed the Centre for the Parliamentary disruptions, asserting that it was due to the insensitivity of the UPA to the Opposition demands.
Echoing similar sentiments, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said most of the time the disruptions occurred as the Centre was found wanting in its response.“Tomorrow (on Monday) the issue of the report about the Union Law Minister’s interference in the CBI report on coalgate will come up. Had the Centre come up with a statement, this issue would cause disruptions,” he said. On the suggestion of deferred broadcast of the Question Hour, he said there was “no question” of stopping the telecast.
“None of us would agree. The public has a right to know what is happening,” he said. However, Yechury acknowledged there was a “technical” problem over the remarks made during the proceedings, which are expunged by the Chair for being unparliamentary.
“That can be done by the print media, but with the electronic media, there is no such arrangement. There is a problem there. But how do we solve it?” he said. Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien said the suggestion of deferred broadcast was not practical. If the situation spiralled out of control, the cameras can always be turned off, he pointed out. Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena felt it was unnecessary to be strict inside the Upper House. “The Centre needs to get strict outside where people are on the streets protesting,” he said.