Parliament disruptions: Ansari calls all-party meeting

He further stated that disruptions were a violation of the rights of other members, who were in turn making the Executive accountable

With logjam in the Upper House leaving key bills in the limbo, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has called an all-party meeting today even as the Government said it is ready to extend cooperation but the Chair has to "act" if Opposition members are "hell bent" on disruptions.

In the meeting to be held in Parliament House, the Chairman, who has repeatedly voiced his anguish over frequent disruptions in the House, is expected to urge members of all parties to allow the House to function to transact normal business.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, meanwhile, said, the Chair should see to the fact that the House functions properly.

"The government is ready to extend any cooperation but if somebody is bent upon disrupting and if they do it on a regular basis, the Chair has to take necessary action," Naidu said reflecting the exasperation in the government with repeated disruptions in the House, which has taken a toll on the legislative business.

When asked what specific action the Chair should take, Naidu said he does not want to say what the Chair has to do.

"The Chair knows its responsibility and its rights also," he said while citing examples of the passage of Women Reservation Bill and Telangana Bill in Parliament amid massive protests in the past with the Chair resorting to the use of marshals in one case to evict the protesting members.

"We have seen it umpteen times. How the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. How the Telangana creation bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. The entire country has seen that," he said.

Asked whether those measures are required again, Naidu merely said that the nation needed measures that preserve democracy and allow debates and discussion and decision.

"The President also asked us to discuss, debate and then decide. Do not disrupt. He has been saying it continuously. The Chair also has been saying this. But the point is that there has to be somewhere where the Chair has to act...If they say we are not allowing this House to function. Then it is bringing a bad name to democracy, the country," the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

Drawing attention to the difference between the functioning of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, he said the one House where the BJP has majority is functioning normally while disruption is the order in the other House where Congress has a majority.

While the government appeared inclined to push some bills even amid the din in the House, Ansari is apparently not in favour of passage of bills in this manner.

At a meeting of the Rules Committee of the House yesterday, Ansari is said to have pitched for more powers to act against errant members.

He was believed to have urged the Committee to frame rules similar to the Lok Sabha, allowing the presiding officer to throw out members disrupting proceedings.

Ansari is also likely to call a meeting of the general purposes committee (GPC) of the Rajya Sabha to discuss it.

During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) held here on December 10th, Ansari had expressed his anguish at the "improper language and behaviour" of some members in the House, saying they are unmindful of the fact that the proceedings are being telecast live.

He had stated that he was deeply concerned about the "sad reflection" such behaviour has on the dignity and public respect commanded by the parliamentarians in society and the message that is being conveyed to the citizens of the country, especially the younger generation.

He was of the view that Members should always conduct themselves in a dignified and irreproachable manner, even while putting across divergent points of view.

He further stated that disruptions in the House were a violation of the rights and privileges of other members and apart from making the Executive accountable, the Members were in fact helping them by not taking up Question Hour, Zero Hour, Calling Attention, Short Duration Discussion.

Ansari had also expressed the hope that the Members would realize the fact that debate and dialogue are the only ways to find amicable solutions to problems and hoped that the House would soon go back to normal functioning.