TMC protests Dinesh Trivedi’s out of turn speech in Rajya Sabha

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh was in the Chair at the time of the incident.

TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Budget session, in New Delhi.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, has questioned the decision to let former TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi speak during the discussion on the Union Budget, when he dramatically announced his resignation after hitting out at the TMC for the ongoing violence in the State ahead of the Assembly elections.

Trinamool’s chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, Sukendu Sekhar Ray, in the letter said that Mr. Trivedi had not been nominated by the party for the discussion. He further said that Mr. Trivedi was not sitting in his allotted seat in the Rajya Sabha gallery, but came down the chamber. “Mr. Trivedi grossly misutilised the floor of the house for his devious political ends and also the way he was allowed to have taken the house for a ride is absolutely unprecedented, unwarranted and is devoid of not only decorum and etiquette but also against all rules, norms and traditions of this august house,” Mr. Ray wrote.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh was in the Chair at the time of the incident.

Mr. Ray further alleged that the Chair for some “inexplicable reason” did not employ any of the mechanisms available to it to “restrain the unruly member”.

The rules, Mr. Ray wrote, did not authorise the member to announce his resignation on the floor of the house. The TMC leader has demanded an inquiry into the incident to find out the reasons behind “such unprecedented illegality committed through deplorable action or inaction”. He further said that the incident could have been the result of connivance or conspiracy to malign Trinamool Congress.