Parliament saw turmoil on Monday morning as All India Anna Dravida Kazhagam (AIADMK) members in both Houses raised the issue of former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju's remarks alleging that pressure from an alliance partner of the previous government had forced three successive ex-Chief Justices of the Apex court to give extensions to an additional judge of the Madras High Court despite an adverse Intelligence Bureau (IB) report against him.
While the AIADMK forced two adjournments during the morning session in Rajya Sabha on Monday and was vocal in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, the response from the Chair in both Houses was the same.
Both Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari wanted proper procedure to be followed. They also said they cannot compel the government to make a statement in the House.
Ms. Mahajan said a point of order cannot be raised during Zero Hour when Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu said a point of order has been raised and it was up to the Speaker to decide.
In the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Ansari was forced to announce two adjournments that derailed Question Hour but he wanted the issue to be raised through appropriate procedure. “I will have to name you for display of [a] newspaper,’’ he told an AIADMK member who sought to display a newspaper that had carried Justice (Retd.) Katju’s allegations.
While Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar was inclined to give one minute to the Members to make their point, Mr. Ansari said the established procedure for taking up issues should not be sidetracked. Rajya Sabha returned to normal after it assembled at noon while Lok Sabha took the disruption in its stride.
