In a voice choked with emotion, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday castigated House members for Tuesday’s events that saw some members protesting, standing from the Secretary General’s and reporters table.
He termed these protests ‘acts of sacrilege. “As I spent a sleepless night last night, I struggled to find the provocation or reason for forcing this august House to hit such a low yesterday,” he said.
The Table area of the House constituted the ‘sanctum sanctorum’ of the House and anything said or done destroying the sacredness of such place amounted to sacrilege, he stated.
‘Entering sanctum sanctorum’
“In our temples, devotees are allowed only up to the sanctum sanctorum and not beyond. Entering this sanctum sanctorum of the House in itself is an act of sacrilege and it has been happening as routine over the years. I am distressed by the way this sacredness has been destroyed yesterday,” he observed.
Such acts were “propelled by a sense of competition among some sections of the House, since the commencement of this monsoon session"
Mr. Naidu appealed to the collective conscious of the House to seriously reflect on what happened yesterday and explore remedies. “Failure to do so would certainly render our parliamentary democracy irrelevant,” he noted.
Each member had to make a choice to be either the best parliamentarian or the worst disruptor, he added.
Mr. Naidu adjourned the House after reading out his statement for an hour.
