Bengaluru: In the wake of a washout of the last parliament session, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is planning to rein in the opposition using the rule book to enable its smooth functioning.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu dropped hints about this at a press conference here on Friday but quickly added that it was not a move to discipline MPs and MLAs, but to allow the aspirations of people to be properly addressed. “This applies to all states whether they are ruled by the BJP or opposition parties. The recent behavior of the Opposition in parliament forced the Speaker to name 25 MPs and suspend them but the question remains whether they should be properly punished for disrupting the House,” he said.
“As parliamentary affairs minister, I strongly feel the time has come to revisit the rules of business of our legislatures to enable their effective functioning. Such rules should enable free and fair expression of the concerns of people by elected representatives without disrupting the functioning of the Houses. There is a need for a wider public debate on whether persistent violators of the decorum of the legislature should be properly punished or not,” he said, adding that at an appropriate time, he intend to talk to all parties to explore how best the effective functioning of the legislature can be ensured.
When asked if the Union government intend to bring in new legislation for this purpose, Mr Naidu said it is already present in the rule book. “The question is how to implement it,” he said.
Venting his ire against the Congress, Mr Naidu said, “Most of you may not be aware of their u during the last session. It was not telecast and this time, the Speaker herself requested the camera to be turned to their side so that people could see how Congress members were behaving. The Speaker's podium had to be barricaded, so that opposition members did not climb up. The papers were torn and were thrown in the air. There were protests in front of the Speaker's house and her effigy was burnt. What kind of Parliamentary behaviour is this?,” he asked.
