With members of the Rajya Sabha not pacified by an apology tendered by the treasury benches on Friday for a derogatory remark allegedly made by Mani Shankar Aiyar of the Congress, describing MPs shouting in the well as animals, the Chair has called for a personal explanation from him.
Members belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal rose in unison, taking exception to Mr. Aiyar’s reported observation made during a TV debate on the impasse in Parliament on the FDI issue.
With the members relentlessly urging action by the Chair against Mr. Aiyar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla intervened and tendered an apology, saying he should not have used those words if he had actually done so. The Minister said he would talk to the MP and ask him to personally tender an apology. But finding that the enraged members were dissatisfied with his intervention, Mr. Shukla assured them that there were other provisions to take care of such situations.
While declining the demand for action, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said Mr. Aiyar, if he so desired, could come to the House and explain himself on the issue. The MP was not there when the matter was raised during zero hour, and the Chair refused to summon him. Mr. Kurien, however, said if Mr. Aiyar was reluctant to clarify himself, then the Chair would examine the issue under relevant rules.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury asked the Chair to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee, while others wanted it taken up by the Ethics Committee.
BJP deputy leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and his colleague Rajiv Pratap Singh Rudy said it was not just a question of breach of privilege but it amounted to an insult to the House. The RJD’s Prem Chand Gupta said Mr. Aiyar’s remarks were intolerable.
Keywords: Mani Shankar Aiyar, derogatory remark
The Chair is refusing to look instead at the wholesome issue of members creating ruckus, disruption and losing valuable tax payers money especially after they had given themselves a fat increment (for what? - no business in the house since 2010) - a collective failure of the members of the parliament and of our polity.
It is high time that the Chairs applies the rules of the houses to temporarily expel members and readmit them only after they are made to offer punitive community service like sweeping or cleaning the courtyards of the parliament house or teaching civic behaviour to children.
A lesson in humility in the absence of right to recall for disruptive behaviour will serve as a good example for not only the "elders" of the house but also aspiring politicians and members in the lower house.
While not defending his choice of words Mr Iyer is perhaps one of the very few sober voices left and who feels the shame for the collective "bad behaviour" on display for all to see.
Truth always hurts. Instead of getting red faced, let the MPs
retrospect. What Mr.Mani Shankar Iyer said is not quite out of
relevance. We don't see any proceedings taking place in a normal and
orderly manner in both the Houses. Only shouting and hot verbal
exchanges to make the Parliament look like a Fish Market.
Mani Shankar Aiyar was not very far off in his animal analogy, by limiting his comparison only to the politicians of a certain Party. While Shakespeare eloquently said that "all world is a stage and all the men and women merely players ", India as a Nation, is a veritable jungle with all sorts of animals, wild, mild, carnivorous as well as herbivorous, all trying to coexist happily and eke a living by following The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, or India’s Panchsheel TREATY, the corner stone of which is the "live and let live" policy. It is a jungle in the sense that a myriad of languages, cultures, religions etc., are hemmed in to live together by people of different ethnicities, outlooks and aspirations.
Mani Shankar Aiyar just spoke the truth. Is that a crime in India now?
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