A noisy minority cannot be allowed to gag a patient majority, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu said criticising the Opposition for disrupting the Winter Session of Parliament and not allowing business to be taken up.
Defending the promulgation of Ordinances by the NDA Government, the Union Minister on Friday said here that it was indeed extraordinary circumstances as the opposition parties did not allow the Government to take up official business in Parliament. He was speaking after inaugurating the office of Member of Parliament from Viskhapatnam K. Haribabu.
Citing examples from the regime of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru he said that the Government issued 70 Ordinances and it was not because the Opposition did not allow the House to function.
“The cardinal principle of parliamentary democracy is that the majority has the mandate to rule while the Opposition has the right to oppose, expose, and if the numbers permit, to dispose. But, under no circumstances should there be disruption of proceedings. A noisy minority cannot be allowed to gag a patient majority,” the Union Minister said quoting President Pranab Mukherjee. “President is the custodian of the Constitution and we value his view and suggestions highly,” Mr Naidu said.
The Ordinances that have been issued had to be taken up on priority and could not be kept on hold for next session of Parliament. “We were willing to extend the business days of Parliament to take up the issues, but the Opposition was adamant,” he observed.
He took the opportunity to explain to the assembled party workers and leaders on the correct behaviour of an elected representative. Elected representatives had to be keen on learning and not earning, he said.
Visakhapatnam Member of Parliament and State BJP president K. Haribabu, Anakapalle MP M. Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Education and HRD Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Health Kamineni Srinivasa Rao, MLAs PGVR Naidu, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Palla Srinivas Rao and Panchakarla Ramesh Babu and former minister M. Jaganmohan Rao, BJP senior leader P.V. Chalapathi Rao and a large number of BJP workers were present.
